Tales of Arcadia Vol 1

[ThePromise]

An emission of impending arrival among the grassland outside of Arcadia served as a signal, but if all went well there would be no one to signal. The physical form of Connor Owens had arrived a few feet in the air, landing on the ground in a kneeling position and shaking off the weightless feeling of immediate transit he could just not get used to fast enough. Attire of black with black boots, pants, and a vest with materials he wouldn’t even try to pronounce were all donned but what stood out most was his quiver, lined with thin but easily dangerous arms that circulated between critical punctures and complete utility ranging in freezing, blinding, and deafening were all lined up and equipped by himself personally. In his right hand was the idle collapsible bow, tightly gripped as though it were a lifeline and in many cases it was. Without this weapon he was at a significant disadvantage at any range, but that wasn't to say the throwing knives that lined his torso or the silenced handgun holstered to his left thigh wouldn't help even any unfavorable odds.

Picking himself back up, the air of this area felt significantly less threatening than Section III’s own atmosphere. It held peace in a world that wasn’t about to know any for what he feared to be some time. Taking in a great amount of air within his lungs, he slowly exhaled and peered over his shoulder to see some sort of glow in the distance among Arcadia’s skyscrapers and other buildings surrounding them. He would have liked to be within the city limits himself to assist those who were under his own command but knew that his place was elsewhere. Perhaps Mayuka was just an excuse to feel like he was doing something more, but it didn't feel right not influencing the mission personally. Reaching up to his left ear and pressing onto a small black bud with his forefinger and middle, his attention returned towards the grove just ahead of him. From this distance, it looked a lot larger than it did from an overhead glance, but hopefully it shouldn't be difficult to find the girl inside.

“This is Owens. I’ve landed, do you have a visual?”

“Yes, sir! So far, so good.”

“Now comes the hard part.” Another sharp inhale and Connor began to hustle forward into the large overgrowth of nature’s trees and flora, but tingles up his spine brought feelings of worry as he moved in the direction opposite of the city. Spending so long protecting people from crisis like this, it was a strange sensation to just walk away. All the experienced leader could do now was make sure Aiden didn’t need to worry about his sister.

Upon immediate entry, the air of warmth and peace seemed to disappear in favor of instinctual caution and weariness. By no means did anything appear less beautiful than it already was, but with human instinct alone one could detect that something was wrong within this beautiful place. Trying to find Mayuka within this place was no chore, as the best guess he had was to move in the direction the air felt colder and foreboding. Checking his line to headquarters, it was indeed nothing but heavy amounts of static on the other end. The forest was not thick enough for it to hinder his ability to communicate, which indirectly confirmed that some other force was at work here. Following the brook, if anyone knew Mayuka they’d know that odds were she’d be by some form of water if she was alone.

Connor found himself looking over his shoulder much more than he’d have ever expected. Within time, he had come across her in the direct center of this entire grove, collapsed and at some level of peace. Carefully approaching, he shifting his body around, eyes and ears perked for some sort of ambush lying in wait. By the time he reached Mayuka, nothing had emerged from the shadows despite him being right on top of the source of that unease. Kneeling down beside her, Connor had taken immediate notice of two things: Her chest wasn’t moving, and all sense of warmth seemed to vanish within the last several feet he had gotten closer to her.

A hand placed upon her forehead confirmed that her body was ice cold, and while he should have found great alarm in the fact she wasn’t breathing, he could still feel her heart beating even in such an odd spot. So Mayuka was not dead, butConnor wasn't sure he could count her as alive either. It appeared that it was some sort of critical comatose-like state of being, and this was beyond any level of healing he could administer.

“Could be worse.” He muttered, placing his collapsed bow in another holster opposite his pistol thigh. With his arms slipping under her thighs and her torso, he was in the process of lifting her up and running out of here when a jolt of horrific energy shot itself throughout his body and mind, immediately forcing him to release the hold he had and stumbled backwards, drawing his pistol out of alarm and taking aim towards Mayuka. He was certain that that wasn’t her doing this, but there was something very wrong with her. “What the hell was that..?” he panted, holstering his weapon and getting himself back up. In this state, moving her seemed like an impossibility, but leaving her was by no means an option. Some amount of force was still present enough to halt him, as drawing his weapon was an instinct of self-defense.

~-~

Those left in charge of decision-making in Connor’s stead were much too busy wondering how they were going to do things on their own for the next ten minutes. With Connor’s entire team mobilized and his wife indisposed, as well as a majority of the basic personnel deep in space, they were all put into a position they had never been in before. No clear leader was elected, and they were only advised to give Connor at least ten minutes before they were to reach out for Satoshi. Until that time came, another man affectionately referred to as ‘Doc’ among the employees working within Section III had casually strolled inside, glancing at the precious few who were comically concerned with how they were going to handle the next ten minutes by themselves. Having personally saw to it that Connor did make the trip visually, he had figured that the temporary leader would trust him enough to step into this room.

Among the concerns raised, Connor had made some mention of communications being down within Arcadia. Aiden and Doa, the two special resources left in the city, were unable to be reached and Mayuka had dropped off the radar as well. There was some speculation given to why this was, but nothing concrete. Hovering over the primary console surrounded by monitors displaying the smoke, ash, and brilliant display of a city under siege, Henry ‘Doc’ Sato adjusted his glasses and moved along the appropriate channels. As expected, any direct connection to Aiden was indeed met with a critical amount of static. It was a shame, that young girl he was with did appear distraught and in many ways cute. Were it not for his dedication to another woman, he may have jokingly suggested he take her out somewhere when this was all over. Aiden was indeed unreachable, but what surprised him more when he switched channel’s to indeed confirm that Doa was unreachable, no static was audible, no critical red to display the connection between Doa and headquarters.

“Hm?” Henry uttered in his throat, adjusting his glasses once more and switching lines to Aiden. Static. Returning back to Doa, the connection remained stable, no preemptive static returned to them. His grey eyes moved towards the imagery they could get of Doa, and she appeared quite busy in a tense engagement with at least one unknown factor. Assessing her situation and deeming her capable of receiving new information in such a troubling time, Henry gave one last glance over his shoulder at the operators within the room still bickering amongst themselves, still having not taken notice he had entered the room. Satoshi had taken most of the experienced personnel with him on that voyage of his, but Connor didn’t complain. This was the graduation the newer personnel needed.

Leaning over the speaker manually, Doa would hear the distant chatting of the other personnel in the room, but Henry would easily be the most prominent.

“Doa, it’s Henry. I can see you’re in the middle of something, so I’ll make this short. Mayuka’s vanished, and Connor was compelled to go after her personally. If he’s handling it, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. However ...” his eyes narrowed in thought. This was a lot for him to assume, but it was the best guess they had so far. “He’s still human, and he’ll still need help. From what I can tell in Aiden’s perspective, he’s heading in the direction his sister disappeared with a new friend. I think the best way you could help now is to bear it until we receive an update while Aiden moves to assist. Until Owens returns, it looks like I’ll be your direct line to new developments. Is there anything I can do to assist you at this time?”

Of course by now the inexperienced Operators within the room had finally stopped talking enough to take notice, but before Henry could be questioned he had flashed a card of security levels to them, one that exceeded the clearance even they had. Being a trusted member of staff, they could say very little to begin with, but the card sealed any doubts in their mind that this is what anyone would have wanted.

“Don’t get used to me, everyone. Just talking to a friend, is all.”

~-~

The orders were given, the plan once again in preferable motion. With the arrival of the girl’s mother, something no supernatural being could ignore worth any salt. It wasn't unexpected that she’d dive headlong into this prelude to the end of the world as they had known it, yet as he began his descent upon the young woman the One could not ignore the developments that his eyes and ears picked up in and around Arcadia. The return of Hunters, the civil war within heaven’s kingdom. Of interest to him, but the questions would be saved for this confirmation was necessary. The one considered ‘supreme’ had to know of this ones power and purity, while more than aware of her past turmoil and what she viewed as present triumph over herself. She was not at the level He had foreseen her, because that might spell the end for them all.

~-~

‘I’ve only been here in nightmares, why am I seeing this place again? It’s never going to happen, I’ve moved on from this!’ Mayuka was at odds with herself. The powers she was blessed and cursed with were already mastered, yet even this mastery paled in comparison to what she was feeling now. Parting with her energy felt like sealing her fate within this place, but still it was only her in the wastes of a ruined Arcadia. Looking over her shoulder and in every possible direction, she had decided to shut her eyes as they would do no good for her here.

‘Come on …it’s going to be okay.’ Mayuka gently tried to coax her mana to follow her, and slowly but surely it had begun to branch out from her despite her own subtle fears in the back of her head. To be frightened, and not being sure of what, was the scariest part of going through this alone. Through the extension of power, she could see the landscape and feel the gradual emptiness of this space. Everything was as blank as it appeared in her mind. Opening her eyes once again, she was not met with the blood-red setting of a ruined city, but was staring at complete darkness with features indistinguishable, covered in rags of maroon and tarnished beyond belief. It was too late to scream, ‘fore he was already upon her, a ghastly semi-transparent and pale finger penetrating her skull and causing her body to seize up immediately.

-
“I once believed I didn't need friends, but then I met you …and that changed.”

Mayuka was surprised at Doa’s sudden burst of affection. A hug was never beyond her desired expression of affection, but getting her settled into her new home seemed to bring about some level of change. Returning that hug, Mayuka settled on the comfort of her friendship.

-

A memory of Doa became vivid in her mind, but it wasn’t the only one she was beginning to see. This being of blackness entered her mind and began to expose moments in her life that were, perhaps to him, as critical as they were to others as well. The capacity to fight in her mind came back, and at once all mana converged back towards her with overwhelming force. Crashing against both the unwanted intruder to her memories and herself, she was alarmed enough to enter a state of impurity once more, but only temporarily. When the dust of that crash had at last settled, she was alone where she stood once more, but the effects of that mental invasion were still vivid in her mind. She was seeing Doa, Rika, Asagi, her brothers, her mothers, her father. Everyone she had ever known was racing through her mind, and it was beginning to overwhelm her to the point she had fallen to her knees and struggled to draw breath. So many experiences active in her mind at once was beginning to overload her.

~-~
The reliving of but a small set of very intimate and personal memories in the girls life was one small necessity for the man behind this growing faction. The One hovered behind her, unscathed from her attempt at forcing him from her mind but impressed at her efforts. She reacted faster than most were capable of, but the effects of his invasion had begun to take their toll. On the outside, her ally stayed beside her barely-sustained body, but within too much stress could cease her heart’s functioning forever. This was something no medicine could cure, and his invasion within was not easily sustained as the good in her actively struggled to break him out at some cost to her bodies functionality. Mayuka should still be warm, her pulse stronger and her heart beating at a healthy pace, even her lung should be fully operating, but subconsciously she fought this invasion of space and as such he needed to exert more power to keep himself rooted here. Some part of her was familiar with what he was doing, and that part of her prevented him from making off with her body right now.

Perhaps the meddlesome work of her mother, but it wouldn't stop what was to come.

“…Further?”

No response necessary, for Pale One had already begun another approach, this time not only a finger, but his entire form entered her mind’s physical form.

~-~

At a loss of what he could do, Connor could only stay by the girl’s side in concern. This was beyond his level of ability to solve. Moving her was impossible, but leaving her felt ...wrong, and certainly more dangerous the decision to make. Though for a moment she appeared at some level of peace, Connor had begun to notice her face tighten in discomfort, and her fingers lightly jerk. He was convinced that someone or something had induced some sort of dream onto her, but as alert as he was he couldn’t find anything within this grove but themselves.

Attempting to reach headquarters one more time, the sharp hum of static was so intense that Connor yelped in pain before tearing the small device from his ear, which immediately stopped. The ringing in his ears was still strong, but whatever cause the blocking of communication was strongest from Mayuka now. At least when he attempted to reach Aiden he could still hear some kind of noise in the background, but like this there was no chance whatsoever. Never had he felt more powerless.

 

[Piercing Light]

The fierce battle between Doa and Vexil continued, however, the pace had slowed down considerably. The volley of energy blasts that Doa had been sending Vexil's way had slowed down to only a single blast every few seconds, and Vexil himself was only bothering to defend himself when necessary.

"Your attacks have slowed down, I'm assuming you've wised up?" Vexil said, swatting away a ball of energy; which crashed into a mailbox and sent countless pieces of shredded paper into the air. Doa frowned, and halted her attacks.

"As long as you continue to fight defensively this will go nowhere." Doa said. They both knew this, and Vexil was at the advantage here since his goal was to keep her here. She needed to end this somehow, but the demon was not giving her any chance to execute a plan. She thought of expending most of her power to take him out in one blow, but there were too many risks. Unleashing too much power could level entire city blocks, and she wasn't sure of what her opponent's abilities were. Vexil shrugged his shoulders and leaned against a brick wall.

"Right, that's why I was fine with us simply having a nice chat, it would be much easier on the both of us wouldn't it?" Vexil said. His calm attitude was bordering on condescending to Doa.

"I have nothing to discuss with a demon." Doa retorted, her tone rife with disdain. Vexil smirked and let out a sigh.

"And just what do you know of demons? Not all of us are the same I'll have you know. For one, I'm not like those neanderthals you butchered in that grove." He said, causing Doa's face to shift slightly in surprise. "Oh don't give me that look, Demons of my level can easily sense disturbances on a scale as large as that. I'm not stalking you, I can assure you."

Doa fought the urge to relax, as she found it annoying how sincere this demon seemed. She felt no hostility from him; none of the primal lust for murder that she had felt from the other demons. Naturally, it made her want to ask him just what his motivations were, he clearly did not even want to be here. She opened her mouth to speak, but as she did so she coughed. Confused, she looked around to see that the area was steadily being covered in smoke. Nothing was on fire nearby, and they were outside, so she knew right away that this smoke was not natural. She held her breath and tried to find her bearings.

Vexil, meanwhile, knew what was happening. This smoke was Blanca's doing, and as troublesome as it may seemed at the moment, this was typical of him. A single chain extended from his right sleeve and raised upwards out of the smoke. This gave Blanca his location, and as such he was given space in the smoke to breathe.

Fumbling through the smoke, Doa bumped into a car. It was a sports car, must have cost a kings ransom. It was painted red, had a custom engine, tires, and interior. But that didn't matter to Doa, all she cared about was the hood, which she gripped so tight her fingers punctured it like wet paper. It was then that she heard the communication device in her ear buzz to life, at first she heard vague voices bickering, but then a clear, familiar voice spoke. "Hen-" Doa forgot about the smoke for a moment, and was sent into a short fit of coughing as soon as she opened her mouth. Grasping the car hood with both hands, she swung it side to side with powerful strides. Large gusts of air blew the smoke in front of her away, allowing her to take a breath and respond to the voice speaking to her. She was glad to hear from Henry, she really was, but the news he brought to her was troubling. She was right in thinking something had happened to Mayuka, but for her to have vanished completely?

Mayuka was her closest friend, her first friend. To even think that something had happened to her sent a painful chill through her body.

"Henry, please..." Doa spoke. It was rare for her to speak so timidly, asking something of someone in such a manner was rare for her, but still...

"Do whatever you can to find her, please." She pleaded.

"Find who?" Vexil's voice came from behind Doa, she turned sharply around and swung her free fist at him, only to find that he wasn't there anymore, he was hiding in the smoke. "It wouldn't happen to be the other woman you were with in the grove, would it? It's hard to miss such an extravagant display of power, and even harder to miss when it vanishes so quickly. Hmm, that man that was here before, that was her brother, was it not?"

"Stop talking as if you know everything." Doa swung at the demon's voice as she heard it, but still hit nothing.

"Right, right, I'm being too familiar, aren't I? You don't even know my name, it's Vexil, for the record."


"Nice to meet you Vexil, I'm Doa, now could you stop moving so much so I can shut you up?" Doa muttered.

"You know..." Vexil said, ignoring her request. "I wouldn't worry so much if I were you, your friend seemed perfectly able to handle herself. I can empathize with how you feel however, trust me."

"You are really intent on talking with me aren't you?..."

 

[Lumine]

“How.. did you see that too? But how could—“ Mio stared at Claire puzzled, a look of doubt and questioning floating to her features.

This is not good. Claire felt exposed. Mio would figure out what she is, or perhaps she already did. She didn't see this coming. Getting overwhelmed by these visions again and possibly at the worst timing ever. She had to cover this up and cover it well. But that wasn't the only thing that was worrying her. The list keeps expanding though. The vision she experienced this time... She noticed something different.

“Now that your psychotic episode is over, let’s get back to here and now,” John interjected, cutting off what Mio was about to say or even deduce. He was already at Claire's side helping her or rather securing her location. He kept her at an arm's length as he stood between her and Mio, as if fearing she would do another thing he can't foresee. He wasn't laid back as before though, he looked serious, he sounded more urgent, his patience was wearing out.

For a moment, Claire felt grateful that he turned Mio's attention away from her if even temporarily, but then, the way he eyed her a moment ago, could he have figured who she really is? Well, add one more item to her list of worries. She needed to be more careful now.

There were questions. To the point and very precise, and there were answers that were not much so. The Demons are up to the same tricks as always, and to the same end as well, their fairytale version of the world, draped in the shadow of their Savior, Lucifer and decorated with the blood and waning screams of Humanity. Nothing new to that. They are always wanting this, no reason to want it more all of a sudden now. Not unless someone had opened a door, none of them had ever thought of opening before. Someone had finally found a way to do it. Angels didn't know anything more than they did, even their Archangels, they were not reacting as fast. Their position was nearly as bad as theirs. Nearly.

“You alright?” John asked. “Can’t having you keel over, kid.”

"I'm fine," Claire assured him, the color having returned to her face again. She looked at Mio with a mingling sense of caution and sympathy. She looked so worried and distraught, her face so pale, her eyes sad and lost.


“It’s your daughter, isn’t it?”

A what? Claire looked at John quizzically, What did he mean about Mio having a daughter? Her deep grays widened in realization though as she watched Mio's reaction. That's why...

“She’s just… gone. As if she never existed, I can’t sense her.” Mio admitted, desperateness lingering to her words. So that's why she is that worried. Claire stared at her stunned for a second. She had never thought there was anyone like her, she often thought she the only one of her kind left, all by herself. Shunned. Although Mio's daughter, Mayuka, was missing and judging from their situation most likely in danger, Claire felt strangely relieved. No, even her newer sense of surprise was slowly turning to contented consolation. In the dull white light of the room, her features seemed soft and clear, composed and serene despite the stress she has been under, but her eyes seemed to have gained a new glint in their depths. Their gray shade lightened till they were so clear and translucent as if you were looking into mirrors. Hope.

“Well that’s fine,” John said to Mio, “As long as I’ve got her first and last name, I could easily summon her.”

Claire knew of the spell used to do so, she never tried it herself and had only seen Alyss use it twice before. But its success majorly relied on the Summoner's skill. Not an easy feat, but John seemed like the exact type of hunter who would have this spell be the easiest on his list. Claire felt that this plan was great and all, but she had been wanting to ask Mio something. She knew it was no time for it, but she didn't care. This might be her only chance to ever know the truth about the whereabouts of her mother.

Before she could utter her question though she felt as if something dropped in her stomach. Claire didn't know why but she felt threatened all of a sudden as if she had stepped onto a mine and it was going to explode in her face. Her instincts told her one thing though, and it made no sense, but all she felt right now is the unshakable need to duck.

“Really?!”

“Of course. Best occultist in the world, after all, just go for a run to the shop and we can get started—“ and as if on queue, five angels popped into existence behind Mio and raised their hands just as quick. Claire jumped and rolled to the side just before the beam of light hit her, the heat of it still lingering on her face. She quickly got to her feet, but an angel, tall and overbearing, swung his hand at her and she was hurled crashing into the wall. Claire groaned, ignoring the ache in her side and rose to her feet, the ring on her hand felt hot now as it curbed down her aura, how she wanted to take it off.

"Stay out of this Child, this is no matter of your concern."

The angel walked slowly towards her, his eyes cold and wrathful. Why are the Angels attacking them now? Claire, stood up quickly, Solapris morphed swiftly into her signature silver gun, and she fired at him. He stepped to the side with an inhuman speed and kept advancing at her.

"Put that aside human. Your resistance is futile, your weapons won't do us any harm." His face was emotionless, but his voice was commanding and slightly angry. He rushed her into the wall, a little too forcefully, his hand reaching for her forehead. Claire stopped his hand mere inches away with her own, swiping it away and kneed him hard in the gut. The angel staggered backwards, surprised at her strength. He didn't think any human had it within them to overpower an angel.

"Why are you attacking us?" She asked, aiming the gun at him, and no way she will miss this time, "Why attack Mio? Isn't she one of your kind?"

"That is none of your business." The Angel growled, and came at her, ignoring the gun staring him in the face. She pulled the trigger, and shot him. The bullet had hit him right in the heart. Claire didn't think, she just acted, and in that brief second in between, something at least made sense in this world.

"Impossible"

The Angel looked stunned, in utter disbelief as white light shone from the wound and glowed so bright from everywhere in his body, before he dropped to the ground, unmoving. Before Claire could catch her breath, a strong tremor shook the whole house, and she ran back to the room to help John and Mio. The moment she reached the room though, Mio and three other angels surrounding her disappeared in a bright flash of light. Claire cursed inwardly and hurried to where John was. She needed to make sure he was okay.

"John, you alright?"

There was another dead body of an angel on the ground, and John stood above it with the angel blade in hand. He was slightly winded but otherwise seemed just fine. Claire looked around her at the damage, at the wrecked house and felt disappointed. She missed her chance, and now she might never know what happened to her mother. She sighed in frustration and ran her fingers through her chocolate brown locks. Then there is the whole deal with demons trying to end the world. She looked over at John.

"We need a plan." Claire said, taking out her cellphone and flipping it open, she dialed Alyss's number, but was redirected to her voice mail...again.

"I think we should-"

"Hello John. It's always a pleasure to see you." Claire whirled around, gun aimed at the stranger. Another Angel, she felt it immediately. He had the same aura as them, albeit his is not as overwhelming as Mio's and neither as distraught, he seemed calmer than the rest. He did seem acquainted with John but she wasn't going to let him easy though.

"Who are you?" Claire demanded, her eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"You can introduce me to your friend later." He said, grabbing a chair and taking a seat, "For now, I'd like to know why that particular angel is dead." He lit up a cigarette, casually and took long, deep inhales before expelling out an annoying cloud of smoke "Furthermore, what the hell happened to Mio?"

Claire lowered her gun, but still held onto it, lest he try something funny. This day couldn't get any worse, could it?

 

[Cassette-Disk]

Jet looked at the demon. The demon looked at Jet. Then it punched him in the stomach, which caused a roar of laughter and howling from the onlooking demons.
"Whut now?" The demon asked, using the laughter as a cover. Jet looked at the pair walking away through pain filled eyes. It was obvious he was going to get a talking-to about this. Probably about how he needs to take things more serious or something.
"Stay consistent." Jet told the demon. "If something fails we can't give up on it right away, we keep try--" The Trickster took a moment to let out a painful "oof" sound as the demon punched him in the stomach again. "Really? The same spot?" He growled.
"Conschistent." The demon said with a smile.
"Right, okay. Just like, toss me at him or something. So I can bash into him and force him int--"

Grabbing Jet by the collar and giving him a good rough shake that he did not expect, the demon wound up like a pitcher at the mount and launched the would-be deserter at the pair, taking extreme care to avoid striking the girl besides the man. As Jet flew, the demons began their uproar anew, glad to be a part of Jet's suffering. It wasn't rare that one of his plans backfired, but it was rare when others were around to witness it, and it was even rarer when he was hurt because of it. Rarest of all was when a fellow member of the Cult was the one doing the damage. The leader of the demon joined in the laughter, following it up with a taunt directed at the Hunter in the form of an extended middle finger and smirk.

 

[purgatory]

It seemed Vexil had taken notice and used the cloak he'd provided him, the confirmation was a blatant signal the demon would recognize. The quadriga itself was still...rather unsure of what it could be doing. The human below walking blindly and talking to herself seemed to resist the active poisons contained within the bank of smoke. With breath to spare, holding a conversation amongst itself and aloud with Vexil was a combination of curious and estranged.

Now came the hard part, deliberating on whether to interfere or not. It seemed unnecessary, this was the answer that Blanca chose to accept as it brought it's attention over the area. This grandeur location that was normally riddled with people and active streets was, now far quieter as the area they currently vacated was hushed of all but the sounds of Vexil speaking to the young girl. Blanca came to find that level of silence chilling, not expecting much to coincide as the angel that watched from above, it's actions simply fell on deaf ears.

"Demon."

'!!!!'

The quadriga dissolved into smoke performing a quick dash, startled and reforming after its two second dash with it's signature two shield in hand. It's offensive shields were buckled on just at the wrists, and the wrists and appeared as if he were holding two small discs. It was a woman, a female angel though nothing really conventional about the angel's "appearance". It wore a velvet green dress, the material looked fairly expensive, it was hooded, and wingless. It seemed a little rough around the edges, as if it had just come from an intense battle.

'When did this Angel arrive, I couldn't...'

Oiri

It stood mere feet away from the demon, as if probing through Blanca.

"Kiriyuin Satsuki." it uttered a name and pointed at the naked quadriga, almost as if aiming to make a snide remark.

"You watch television...eheh...great." Blanca uttered nervously, unlike it's usual behavior it was starting to grow cautious as it was stuck between a rock and a hard place. The angel didn't attack, but Blanca had it's own suspicions and was wary all the same. It took a step backward, its breasts seemed to fumble of their own volition and it produced an intense look with a scowl at the angel.

"Lower your wares demon. I've no quarrel with the likes of your kind, that young girl down there however is of interest, and my-"

The trail of heat whisked past as the female angel pivoted its head to the side and felt the heat taper near it's face.

"Must we facet to blasphemous defiance against the maker?"

Blanca said nothing, it's hand was radiating with the cinders of fire, producing a caustic source of smoke. The shields around its wrists began to shrink from their disc shapes into wrist bands and the demon would use them later. Clenching its fists, the quadriga began to harness its aura, and purged a hot string of super-combustion from its hand, slimming it into a blade. The concentration was thick and continuous, doing so would leave the quadriga unable to disband itself to dodge, it would have to rely on staying solid and using the smoke to ride on. As the smoke around the area began to grow thick, the demon tightly fisted the combusted sword and lunged towards the angel with reckless abandon.

Oiri stood in place, and released a soft breath. Raising her hand, it purged of pure white and blinding light activating purge and expelling the demon's aura away. It was essentially flying towards her now naked as the smoke and mirrors vanished. Raising her leg, she caught the nude woman, on her heel as the body pressed in, the angel pushed pack hearing nothing but hair fluttering, before a loud thud as the demon hit the ground, and disbanded into smoke.

"What trickery is this??"

CLANG!

Holding both hands firmly grasped to gather, as if its hands sealed inside of a massive boulder, the demon swung its arms both enclosed inside the shield and cracked them against the angel's blind spot. The naked quadriga was not just capable of smoke manipulation, they angel had yet to realize the demon could clone and replace body parts (with the exception of a heart) and even mass produce itself, all equipped with Blanca's traits. It hovered over the angel as the angel itself coming around and placed its hands in the dirt.

Taking her by the legs Blanca dragged the angel away into the thickest part of the smoke quickly muffling the sounds she made out of panic.

 

[King Wolfe]

Elyse

Elyse opened her eyes. She was stuck in some sort of glass container, there wasn’t a lot of leg room and in fact that didn’t matter at all apparently considering she couldn’t even move. Elyse looked down at her legs and saw that they were bound to something wooden, maybe a stake?

She looked at her arms, held out like the letter T and was bound just like her legs.

Elyse looked at the glass as tears welled up. Her chest became tight and it started to get harder to breathe. Elyse struggled against her bounds but to no avail. “SOMEONE HELP ME!” she cried as tears fell down her cheeks. “DANTE, LUPA, ANYONE!”

She struggled, even tried to ignite her magic but nothing happened. The container must’ve been magic-proof or she was so scared she couldn’t use her magic. Angels materialized all around the glass container and watched Elyse with interest.

“Please, please someone help me,” Elyse begged, her voice shaky.

Azazel tilted his head in confusion. “She is the phoenix? She is perfectly mortal.”

Gadreel shook her head and lightly shoved her angelic comrade. “Fool, she is merely a vessel. The phoenix is indeed within her, can’t you sense it?”

“What… Hey! Let me out of here!” Elyse demanded, starting to get angry with them just staring at her like she was some animal on display. “I said get me out! I swear when I get out of here!”

“She is quite loud,” remarked Daniel. “Would she be suitable as a weapon?”

“Weapon… Listen featherbrains, I’m no Wolverine you can poke and prod. Get me out of here or I swear to—“

“Who, exactly, are you swearing to?” Balthazar asked as he appeared in-between the angels. The angels bowed respectfully and gave him a wide berth. Elyse gave Balthazar the best glare she could muster, thankfully Lupa taught her how to look intimidating but with tears running down her face it was kinda hard.

“Your mom,” Elyse retorted bitterly. “NOW GET ME OUT!”

Magic filled Elyse’s body and she blew out a fierce column of fire from her mouth at the glass container. The angels, Balthazar included, recoiled back in surprise. Her powers were supposed to be suppressed, it was impossible that she could access them.

The glass began to melt as Elyse’s eyes became like miniature suns, Balthazar could see two mighty wings of fire appear on her back. Balthazar raised his sword and a magical force-field appeared over the container, Elyse’s fire was extinguished and as punishment she was horribly electrocuted.

Elyse wailed in pain as the electricity burned her body, her skin beginning to splinter and smoke. Azazel grabbed Balthazar’s arm and lowered it, “Are you mad? You will kill the girl!”

Balthazar growled and pushed Azazel away. “Do not touch me! Besides, she will heal.”

He gestured at Elyse who was bloodied and burnt from Balthazar’s magic. A red aura appeared over Elyse’s body and it spread over her wounds, slowly, but surely, healing them. In 30 seconds she was perfectly healed but her exhaustion remained.

“Oh, I really don’t like you, Wall Street. You better hope I get to you before Dante does,” Elyse growled.

“There is no one coming for you, monster. You are alone,” Balthazar shot back, turning away and heading to the War Room.

Balthazar walked across the lovely field and sat in the recently made throne in the center of the yard. He looked over his soldiers with content, even he couldn’t help but grin as his eyes scrutinize the thousands of angels now under his command. Thousands of angels bowing and willing to sacrifice themselves for him.

Sure, there were some still loyal to Mio and Balthazar had no desire to kill them so he forced them into following him. Mind control spells are quite simple for angels, normally they would go for the whole burning bush deal but that was too flashy for Balthazar.

Balthazar had his weapon, the archangel blade, and the phoenix, two nukes that would surely be enough to stop Lucifer. There was literally no one who could stop him, if Mio so much as approached she would be struck down instantly.

And there weren’t any humans who knew how to break into Heaven, either.

John

John checked to make sure he didn’t have any broken bones. Good, nothing so far, considering how his day was going this was progress. Oriel was sitting like a cocky prick in front of John and Claire, which was John’s bit the whole cocky act. But he kept his comments to himself. Instead, John carefully eyed Claire as if seeing her for the first time.

The fact that she reacted in pain as Mio had, her strange weapon and how she fended herself from the angel. Things weren’t adding up, actually they were but John wanted to keep that particularly idea out of his head.
“He and I had a disagreement,” John sarcastically answered, instinctively stepping forward so that he was the center of attention, not Claire. “I guess sword beats angel.”

John held up the bloody sword for Oriel to see. He didn’t want to piss him off, but anything he could do to keep Claire under the radar was ideal.

“And weren’t you watching?” John continued, patting his pockets for a cigarette but remembering he had quit ages ago. “We were jumped, if I had to guess it’s probably something out of West Side Story? Angel on angel action, they attacked Mio too and…”

John grinned and took a step back to stand beside Claire. He threw an arm over her shoulder, partially hugging her, as he maintained that shit-eating grin on his face. “That’s it. If you wanna know more, you could start helping me out, quid pro quo, Oriel.”

Oriel asked for Mio specifically meaning he doesn’t any more of a clue than John, but he could use this as leverage. Angels can sense other angels, like Heavenly GPS, if Oriel doesn’t know there were two possibilities:

1. She’s dead.
2. She’s cloaked

Knowing how tough Mio was, the latter was more likely. For whatever reason, there are other angels targeting Mio, they didn’t seem to have too much of an interest in John or Claire other they’d be dead. If Angels can sense other angels, it’d make sense that Mio would want to keep that from happening if she’s subject to angelic assassination all of a sudden.

The why behind all of this escaped John, but for now he could get something done in the meantime. It’s better to have an angel on your side than against you, and Oriel would be perfect.

“I need a few ingredients for a spell, I’m taking a trip somewhere. Oh and Claire here,” he pushed Claire forward slightly but kept his arm around her, as if afraid Oriel will randomly kidnap her. “Need some info on her aunt, Alyss. Nice gal, a bit mean she tends to greet me with a knife to the throat.”

“In exchange, I’ll help you help Mio help me. Can ya do that chief?” John asked with a sly smile.

Oriel might’ve been an angel, but that’s all he was. John knows hundreds of spells for hundreds of different things, concocting a locator spell for a cloaked angel might be hard for John but doable. But that’s something he knows, that’s why he was so valuable to everyone, angels, demons, gods alike.

He’s the one who tread into the darkness and survived.

Mio

Mio was sitting on a boat headed for Arcadia. Sang, the Captain, was kind enough to take Mio back home but considering how far it was it’ll take forever. Mio sighed as she looked over her shoulder. Her wings were severely damaged in the skirmish with the defector angels, she wouldn’t be able to fly or teleport for a while.

She had kept her divine presence masked from everything. Demons, angels, the whole shebang. Hopefully it’ll stick.

Mio hugged her knees to her chest and resisted the urge to cry. Everything was falling apart, Balthazar apparently sized control over Mio’s forces and has targeted her for assassination, Mayuka is still in the dark and she doesn’t know what’s going on with Aiden.

What the hell can she do? She’s just one angel, there’s no way she can combat an entire angel army by herself. Mio buried her face in her arms and felt despair for the first time in a very, very long time.

“Ma’am, we have our heading. It will take a while, but I will bring you home,” Sang told her in his native language.

Mio brought her head up and rested her chin on her knees. As weird as it was, Sang’s kindness and optimism brought Mio out of her funk. The world was worth saving because of the billions and billions of humans on here that do good and are good.

There are heroic people on this world, even the ones without powers. People who unconditionally help and love. People like Sang, he had found her on the beach, bloodied and close to death and without word helped her up and offered aid.

There was still a reason to fight, a reason to stand up. Mayuka wouldn’t give up, neither would Isaac or Aiden, even that arrogant John wouldn’t give up. Everyone Mio has come to know and love wouldn’t give up, they’d fight until the last man.

Mio stood up and wiped her face. “Thank you, Sang. I appreciate your kindness.”

“Please, Lady Mio, there is no need to be so formal. It is the least I can do to help an angel,” Sang responded. Mio blinked in confusion but then noticed that Sang’s eyes turned purple. The old sea captain winked and held a finger up to his lips as his eyes morphed back to normal.

“A demon… but why…”

“Why did I help an angel?” Sang asked with a wry smile. “Well, perhaps it is because this old Knight has no place in war anymore.”

Mio hesitated for a moment, she knew how crazy it was trusting a demon… but considering the one she trusted, she supposed it wasn’t the worst thing in the world to trust him.
“Thank you, Sang.”

“It is the least I can do, Mio.”

Dante

Lupa and Naomi were exchanging notes about their past.

It was annoying.

Lupa was sitting on Naomi’s shoulder as she reminisced about Rome. “Oh, Remus was a cutie, a bit scrawny but strong! Taught him everything he knows.”

“I remember him!” Naomi giggled. “He was granted entry into Heaven, such a brave soul.”

Dante shook his head and looked over his shoulder. “Wait, the Romans believe in a different afterlife. Why would a Roman demigod get into Heaven? Wouldn’t he be in Elysium?”

Naomi pursed up her lips and thought about it for a second. “It depends on perspective,” she said finally. “To mortals, it’s their belief which determine what happens to them in the afterlife, however, the original dichotomy supersedes that.”

“So there’s no point in believing in Hades, if you end up in Heaven or Hell regardless,” Dante summed up.

Naomi shook her head. “Contrary to what you may think, Hell isn’t a place of punishment for humans, only demons. But like I said, the other beliefs matter as well. Imagine all of the afterlifes on transparent sheets, then the sheets are stacked over each other. You may believe in one transparent sheet, but you exist throughout the other sheets as well.”

“Wow, that’s not confusing,” Lupa grumbled. “And I’m a god.”

“It’s quite simple once you take physics out of the equation. People don’t really understand how everything really works, it’s either one or the other for them. Why can’t the Egyptian afterlife and Valhalla exist at the same time?”

“Geez, you wouldn’t get along with Caius very well,” Dante remarked, remembering the very eccentric and scientific man. “It’s all a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, time-wimey.”

“Sure, if that helps you imagine it,” agreed Naomi with a smile. “But it’s not like that, but sure use that.”

The two of them walked down the streets, the only sound filling the air were Lupa and Naomi giggling and talking. It was strange to see a god and an angel get along so well, but with everything that’s been going on, Dante supposed it wasn’t too crazy.

“So, where are we going?” Dante asked.

“There’s no way I can get to Heaven in this state,” Naomi explained. “But I know an angel who can help.”

“What if he tries to kill us?” Lupa asked.

Naomi thought about it for a moment. “Oriel wouldn’t, he’s a nice guy.”

“Oreo?” Dante repeated.

“No, idiot, that’s a cookie. She said Ariel,” chided Lupa.

“Don’t be stupid, she’s Triton’s kid. She obviously said Oregano.”

“That’s an HERB! His name is Teriyaki, DUH.”

“PARSLEY!”

“ORIANNA!” Lupa leapt from Naomi’s shoulder and tackled Dante, scratching and biting the poor Black Mage and the two fell to the ground wrestling.

Naomi decided not to pay them any mind and focused on her angel radar. There was a skirmish happening downtown, Oriel was a few blocks away with two humans and there was this… cold spot in the middle of nowhere. Naomi couldn’t sense anything there, it was just… darkness, like a hole in the fabric of reality.

“That’s suspicious,” Naomi grumbled.

“What is?” Dante stood up and Naomi noticed the number of scratches he had on his face, Lupa, however, was unscathed.

“I’m not sure, there’s one area where I can’t sense… anything. Like there’s just a hole,” Naomi tried to explain.

“Maybe we should head there,” Lupa suggested. “That seems like a major hotspot for activity.”

“I can also sense Oriel nearby and a fight downtown,” Naomi continued.

The two of them looked to Dante for answers, which felt ridiculous. Both of them were older than Dante by centuries, why was he in charge of leading them?

But Dante only sighed and crossed his arms. “We can’t split-up. If Lupa is out of range of me, she’s powerless and we’re invisible on the angel radar thanks to you Naomi. So you wouldn’t be able to find us anyway. We continue on to find Oriel and get our way to Heaven.”

“Good idea, Dante. I knew that head of yours wasn’t just good for hats!” Lupa complimented.

“Thanks,” Dante blushed with a grin. “So, lead the way Naomi.”

Aiden

Lucy wanted to scream, facepalm, and kill Jet. Not necessarily in that order, either. He was really going all out with this act, it would’ve been easier if he just attacked Aiden but they don’t call him the Trickster for nothing.
Aiden continued to walk away, ignoring those demons and Jet altogether. Lucy was the only one who could stop him, so she needed to come up with a brilliant plan.

Lucy shut her eyes tight and racked her brain for answers. “Think… think… think!”

After a few seconds, a lightbulb went off in her head. “Brainblast!”

Lucy jogged to catch up to Aiden and took his hand. Aiden finally turned around and faced her. “What?” he asked.

“I remember those guys!” Lucy cried, tears running down her face. “They’re the ones who possessed and killed my sister!”

Realization struck Aiden as the words sunk in. Aiden’s impassive expression quickly morphed into pure anger and rage. His aura exploded around him, so strong that even Lucy was overwhelmed by it.

“Is that so…” Aiden growled, his hair turning black and his eyes turning red. Aiden side-stepped as Jet flew toward him and let him land on the ground, he wasn’t the present target for his anger. Those demons were.
“Yes, you should probably fight—“ Aiden disappeared and charged the demons with his katana at the ready, slashing and slicing at them fiercely. As soon as he was finished, he reappeared beside Lucy again—“Them…”
Aiden wasn’t finished, he walked up to Jet and pointed his sword at him, making sure to keep his distance. “Who the hell are you and why shouldn’t I just kill you now?”

“Because he must be good!” Lucy argued, jumping up on Aiden’s back and crawling up to his shoulders so she could sit comfortable on them. “Those demons didn’t like him, after all!”

“Oh, so that’s good enough reason for us to trust him?” Aiden snapped.

“Yeah! I mean look at him. He’s a hurt wittle puppy and all alone. I’m lonely, I’m Mr Lonely, I have nobody for my ownnn~”

Aiden rolled his eyes. The way she just randomly broke out in song reminded him of Octavia, she was very apt at doing that. Aiden sheathed his sword, his hair and eyes returned to normal, as he warily watched Jet.

“Fine, I won’t kill you,” Aiden said. “But it’s only cuz of Lucy.”

Lucy leaned forward, covering Aiden’s face, and smiled brightly. “That’s me!”

She gave Jet a look like, Don’t screw this up! Or it’s off with your head!

 

[nightmarezeroX9]

The cigarette dropped from the angel's mouth, hitting the floor with a slight thud. Oriel stepped on the cigarette with his shoe, putting it out. He scratched his chin, the small hairs growing on it beginning to irritate him slightly. He crossed his arms and leaned back slightly, letting out a long sigh. The fact that John had an angel sword with him was probably bad news itself, but it more than likely saved his life. Angels weren't exactly anything to screw around with. Especially pissed off ones. Oriel sat there and listened to John's idea. It wouldn't be a bad idea at all to help John out, assuming that he kept his end of the bargain. Knowing John, Oriel would not put him past him to pull a fast one. For now, it was beneficial for the two of them to work together. He could also find information on Claire's aunt, Alyss.

"I wasn't aware that Alyss had a niece." he said, glancing over to Claire. He stood from the chair, rubbing the back of his neck. The one thing that Oriel had a hard time trying to explain to himself was the fact that angels attacked two humans. It was the job of angels to protect them, rather than destroy them where they stood. Judging by the way things were, Mio was the intended target. If they succeeded in acquiring their target, however, was unknown to everyone in this room. The woman was tough. If anything, she could handle a few generic angels that were out to get here. Answers were needed, and Oriel needed them yesterday.

He turned to John, taking note of the smile that crept up on his face after asking for assistance. Despite John's tricky nature, he was a very reliable person. His assortment of tricks and spells up his sleeve could keep anyone on their toes. For now, the three of them would have to work together if they wanted to get anything done. The current demon invasion was an urgent matter, but the angels that attacked the two in front of him, and the disappearance of Mio was just as important.

"Alright John. You have a deal. I help you, you help me, and when that's all over, I'll acquire whatever information I can on Alyss." he exclaimed. He focused for a minute, using his innate sense of other angels to see if any other were nearby. One angel's presence particularly caught Oriel's attention. It was that of Naomi's. If she was down here in Arcadia, then something must of happened. Maybe she knew of Mio's disappearance. Or perhaps, she was as clueless as he was. Judging by how she was moving, she was heading toward Oriel's position. He could convince John and Claire to wait her for her, but it probably would be best to get started right away. Naomi would always know where Oriel was, and vice-versa. If she truly needed him, she could get there in a heartbeat.

"What are these ingredients you need, exactly? And for what spell would you require them for?" Oriel inquired. Before the angel committed to John's potentially crazy and life threatening antics, he needed to know what his exact plan was. It was expected that John would just beat around the bush, but Oriel was prepared for that.

"Oh, and regarding the sword. I'll allow you to hold onto it for the time being. Never know when you may get jumped again."

 

[Hazen Gregory]

"Now things really have the chance to get interesting." The essence of a new presence had arrived, somehow it wasn't inside a small space but was still localized. Within Ty Dex's mind he could see the essence as a large mass that drifted along the street down from the area near the library he had targeted. Smoke had rapidly began to form over both the street and sidewalks in a thick cloud. Ty didn't specifically need to worry about trivial human things such as breathing, which gave him some extended time to think about the situation changing as the smoke continued to spread. On the physical plane this being(Ty could tell it was a demon) was in the shape of smoke, or was at least guiding a part of itself through the smoke which it also controlled.

Before anything else happened, Ty Dex peered up above the deepness of the smoke just as it became too thick to see through normally. Both Vexil and Doa became obscured from Ty Dex's view physically but his psionic abilities proved valuable, he was still able to see every party present by using his mind to scan the vicinity and deduce each separate mind. It was a task that had become far too simple for Ty Dex to even really think much about, he did it so often, that using his mind as a scrying mechanism was somewhat second nature. So was another ability that would be even more useful for this skirmish.

"Damn demons, I'll deal with them in a bit if Doa doesn't realize she needs to get out of here rather than be some kind of heroine."

Ty pulled a shroud of thick necroplasm around himself. His very presence and all connected to him faded unto obscurity as he did so, in a sense Ty was removing himself from the area. He had been using nether manipulation for thousands of years at this point, so the use and effect of this ability was immediate. Ty and his manifestation of necroplasm remained present yet in a different way. Necroplasm allowed the two to spiritually be manifested in the same location whilst their physical matter was occupied by necroplasm itself. Neither could be seen, heard, sensed, or detected in any way while this effect remained active. It also had a secondary affect that began warping his physical appearance for when he chose to switch back onto the physical plane completely.

Ty laughed to the odd looking whale up above him which floated ominously in the air. It was equipped with several different types of weaponry that most people whether they be human, demon or some other race would normally be wary of right away. Doa and both demons hadn't really taken notice so Ty wasn't about to make an issue of it. Instead Ty floated up into the air, reaching the height of the whale as to speak face to face with it. "I need you to take a more conspicuous form that can be used to assist Doa before I turn this block into a scene from the last world war."

The whale grunted, "Fine I don't care what I'm really here for just don't summon me on such short notice next time, I know you were drained somewhat by that. Normally you take much longer to summon me...and in the form of a whale?? I feel as if it was completely unnecessary." Ty smiled, looking at the whale before slowly floating over to the nearest tall building only several hundred feet away.

"Hmm this is a nice size...I can get great usage out of a structure this size," Ty ran his right hand along the curve of a column supporting the front facing section of the large building. In fact it was a library, one of many in a city-scape as massive as a place like Arcadia was. Ty's hand still rested on the column, his influence starting on the ridges where his hand first graced the granite-marble had already spread through the entire outside of the building and continued on to include the inner materials and deeper foundations of the building within.

"Simple."

Ty took his hand away and made a pulling motion with the same hand. Instead of destroying the library as he could have, Ty instead only stripped the building of its spiritual nature, using the nonphysical elements of the building so the structure remained standing and didn't collapse. The entirety of the library glowed with a violet light as its particles were manipulated by Ty Dex, first blowing off the library as a silhouette and then forming into a more sinister looking fog of sorts that billowed behind Ty's invisible body as he paced back down the street, becoming fully visible to both Doa and Vexil whom were at the edge of the smoke. The whale Ty had summoned was completely gone, during the time it had taken Ty to strip the library of its essences it had changed dramatically in both size, shape and use. Ty Dex reached up and pocketed the key which the whale turned into as the foggy miasma that flowed behind him shifted states and began to compress itself around Ty.

A noise similar to that of squelching mixed with a high pitched whirring sound began to increase in volume the closer Ty Dex got to Doa. Doa and Vexil could both see that the shape of his body looked like it was fading in and out of visibility until all at once a sickening noise reminiscent of flesh ripping apart revealed Ty Dex in a splatter effect of necroplasm. His entire brolic exterior had been covered over in a membrane suit composed of necroplasm. Ty's form was only recognizable by the mass of spiky yellow hair that sprouted from the top of the suit. "Doa?? I know you don't have much of a reason to trust me right now but I advise you to do so anyway." Ty just stared at Doa, his expression under the mask on his face was both bored and tired. It was getting close to the time when the entire world would start falling to hell in a hand basket. Ty knew what hell was like firsthand from his own personal experiences. He wasn't willing to let the entire world experience it as he had.

The entire width of the street and bits of the sidewalk were exposed the the dusty miasma that Ty had generated. It had grown ever larger as Ty had been walking toward Vexil and Doa, the asphalt it self was torn up and broken down as Ty walked over it, adding to the overall size and mass of the fallout cloud. 'Doa. I advise you to get as far away from here as you can. You know as well as I that things will end up a miniature catastrophe if you stay. Don't ask questions and take this key.' Ty took Doa's hand and dropped a peculiar shaped key into her palm, then closed it. 'It'll unlock and start any of the vehicles around here. I can keep these guys at bay. So just go!!!' Like before, Ty had spoken directly into Doa's mind.

Ty closed his eyes, then opened them once more, sucking in all the irradiated materials, dust and other elemental compounds which were looming behind his position in grandiose proportions directly into his eyes. Though the library was still standing, the mass of its structure and foundations were within Ty's grasp, along with a large majority of the road and sidewalk which had been broken down and added to the mix. "Tell me demon...why would they send somebody like you to a scene where you could be both outmatched and outnumbered??" Ty had to scoff at his own remark. Not only was the question rhetorical, if it had of been serious, Vexil wouldn't have had the time to give a proper response at all. Both of Ty Dex's eyes glowed fiercely as they released an optic blast packing a colossal amount of force behind it. Even if Vexil managed to dodge the initial blast, the entire mass had coated his person in millions of particles, all of which Ty had dominion over.

The blast was equivalent to that of several C3 detonations at once, the only difference was that this blast held multiple different properties at once. Not only did the small grainy nature of every particle cause great damage as it tore into and through materials at high speeds during the blast, objects hit by this material also had a high probability to catch on fire from the intense spiritual burning of the material that was molded into fallout. More than one fire had been started from the blast and all of them dotting the street made it difficult for anything or anybody to advance upon Ty. Less than an arms length from his body a huge fire burned where Vexil had been standing before the detonation. Ty wouldn't be surprised if Vexil was on fire himself from so many particles attaching to his clothing bursting into flames.

"Pfft, talk about a non-smoking...smoking gun." Ty was the kind of person that always was thinking around each angle of a given situation, this time around he'd made sure to not cut any corners. Doa got a chance to escape and Ty was simultaneously able to use the large detonation to disband a large portion of the smoke cloud that had been used by the demon to reduce visibility. Now that an unprecedented number of solid particles remained in the immediate setting of the street with an upward altitude of five to six hundred feet, the demon manipulating smoke would find it had...interruptions to deal with.

 

[Cassette-Disk]

Jet braced himself, fully expecting a crash with the young adult. What he got instead was the man to bypass him completely and obliterate the demons behind him. Damn it, Jet thought to himself as he face planted rather uncomfortably, Those guys owed me money. In hindsight, they were probably never going to pay him back anyway, so it didn't matter. Still, the certainty of losing roughly 50 bucks stung. The Trickster brought himself to his knees as Aiden pointed a sword in his face. Jet responded by shifting his weight and sitting in a cross legged motion. Just as Jet was about to answer his question, Lucy quickly did so for him. Then she struck the point home by comparing him to a lost pooch, followed up by a small lyrical number.

Aiden eyed Jet. Jet gave gave him a sheepish grin, followed by a soft shrug. Lucy was...being Lucy. A quick confirmation was all that was given by Aiden, and the Trickster let out a breath he hadn't realized he had kept held in. Lucy made sure to non verbally threaten Jet, which caught him by more surprise than it should have.
"'Kay." He responded weakly. "Sorry," He added quickly as he stood up. "I guess I'm not used to much cheerfulness. So uh, where we off to, boss? I might not look like much, but I might just be able to help out."

 

[purgatory]

Blanca had her bound in cuffs of flesh, burned and singed into the very rooftop. Achieved easily enough using anamorphic pieces of his own flesh, his cells were what made cloning possible, even a tiny part of him could be sentient and yet linked back to the demon. The quadriga's shields disintegrated and its naked body of the woman named by the angel, hover over her. The bouncing of Blanca's breasts were nauseating to a pure being, especially in front of one of Allah's seraphim. The angel's gaze was crooked and servere burning with passion and purity.

"Hmm? Don't stare so hard, we're just getting started-"

"Wretched and foul. Have you no shame, succubus?!"

"Try Quadriga Diablos, uncultured, all of you." Blanca scowled and narrowed its eyes, the pocket of smoke was thick with the demon's intent but it didn't have plants of asphyxiating the Angel.

Oiri's strength was easily greater than the demon could see from a surface skim. It felt the twinge of the side of its face from where she'd been struck from the angel's blunt force, it almost felt like a clang. Biting her lip and squinting her eyes, she pulled with both might and brute force, feeling the crack and peel of the charred flesh that bound her to the paved surface.

Catching the quadriga's attention it's bare right hand peeled back and brandished a white hot glow. As Blanca's fist raised down, a slab of concrete bashed against it's head as it's fist punched the angel square on. Half of it's head bled, while the other was in smoke, before the rest of it did (but just that part of its body).

The two of them fell through the building and crashed hard into that of a kitchen table. Blanca rolled over to the side, it's breast pushed against the hard food floor, there was a gash of blood flowing from the left side of it's face. Smoke was brimming from all around the demon's head, meticulously tending to the sealing of its face wound. As it's undamaged eye was focused on the angel, it sat there slowly rising while tending to the punch to her face. It was babbling some dribble from what Blanca could verbally concise.

Oh father of oneness, bestow upon me vitality.
Give'th me the strength as thine child to endure in my purpose
Return to me thine previous state before tainted affliction
Under your arms, I am lifted and returned to balance once more

And what registered to the Quadriga as some manner of sick joke, in fact wasn't. The angel's body began to glow as if some intervention of a higher power invoked within. Her face came to it's beautiful image, the skin and burn marks from his him belting her after unconscious were all becoming undone. As the demon's three remaining hearts began to beat, faster, compulsively, it grew nervous as it stood its face just about recovered and nude. It was standing over broken glass, blood was seeping from an open wound to it's feet, the angel looked from a distance, almost satisfied and had a mischievous expression before electing to chant again. For a moment blanca was petrified, it shook, fear? No such thing, but if there were ever a time, this was it.

Oh father of oneness, in front of my eyes is the enemy.
A wicked deviant that supports hollow vows in thine name
Provide me with the steadiness of mind to eliminate such a foul force
Bestow upon thine enemy-

It couldn't be discerned as instinct or potentially just plane fight-or-flight. The demon flew, throwing itself forward into a smoke dash and reached menacingly for the Angel's closed palms. It's demonic aura beginning to flush from its hands, an insidious black and indigo flowing through to the angel. The strangest occurrence happened, as their aura's mixed, Blanca found itself peering into the head of it's foe as it was communicating with it's maker. A divine eye, it seemed meticulously overwhelming as information and images were being dumped into the quadriga in an instant.

"WHAT THE FU~!"

--A just and righteous punishment.

The demon's aura began to spur and spiral to hellish levels. Throwing the angel's hands apart, it gripped her neck, judging by the angel's face it seemed confused as to why the evocation did not prosper its intended effects. Sure enough the demon's intervention and placement of its aura, tapered the pivotal/opposite effect and imbued the demon with an assist/buff instead of debuffered state change. The angel's hands puffed with light, while the demon's wafted with a strange black and indigo smoke.

"I'll make sure you die in your Greed Demon!"
"Haha, you're welcome to try!"

Their hands were clasped as the angel's divine radiance was clashing with the physical emergence of the quadriga's aura. The collision of two uniquely different backgrounds, seraphim and quadriga diablos, were innately potent as well as powerful. As a mixed force they seemed to create a non-elemental subterfuge that was negating the other's properties when combined. As this power struggle grew worse as they poured focus into it, Blanca's hands shifted the right window and their palms blasted away to the outside, washing transient light over the surrounding area. The light touched through every catacomb of where the quadriga's smoke had touched and began to alleviate and negate everything of both angel and demon properties, completely lifting everything from the field.

Oiri came to punch a hole through Blanca's chest straight through with her bare hand and gripped the demon's heart.

"Demon. I'll crush it if you don't-" the angel's hand jerked back, burned as if the demon's heart was literally on fire.

Blanca's quick thinking worked to his benefit as he lunged forward with a punch and sent the angel through the glass window and watched as it crashed into the nearby rooftop. The smoke demon dashed away jumping through the hole in the wall they'd made from their accidental wave of contrasting auras. Blanca immediately noticed that it's smoke was gone, but so was everything else that presented itself outside as a constant display of hostility, it seemed to ignore all three boundaries and acted as an unintentional relief for the battlefield.

"Was that any help, Vexil...?" Blanca said to itself.

Oiri lay stern, yet alive under on the rooftop, digging her hands into the surface. A fist balled as she hit the concrete and it cracked just from her touch.

"Oiri. Whats the situation!"

"????" Blanca's head heard a strange voice. "What the...who is Oiri?"

The demon had innately been imbued with the ability to listen in, but not communicate back.

"What in Carbunkle's advocate...is this...the angel's?"

"The situation is stable Issac, no cause for alarm. I had some issue with a demon of a rare breed, it left me with pause, but rest assured our mission has seen some success." Oiri transmitted it's thoughts to it's brother's through oneness.

"Good. The situation is stabilizing on our end, the angels of "His" faction are in complete panic on our end. Our rogue network is dealing with their traffic currently. The maker is looking for a status update, submit your findings immediately."

"Yes Issac. I will."

 

[ThePromise]

The power in Doa’s plea rang true in Henry’s ears. It wasn’t an understatement when Doa was pleasantly referred to as a strong and independent woman, but having spent so long in the good company of the Ashford family thanks to Mayuka’s aid, the head of engineering and theory-crafter could pleasantly say that Doa had changed for the better. Once she was rigid and suspicious, but now she had learned to genuinely care for those around her, even if she didn’t always show it in plain sight. With his gray eyes looking over Doa’s attempt to clear the smoke from her surroundings to speak, Henry knew that the best option for her now was to assure her that her best friend would be aided.

“We’ll do all we can, in the meantime your location is too extreme to help reinforce. At least you can take comfort in the fact that the majority of the city is evacuated, but if you can …try to reduce the collateral, please.” Doa was a brutal force and it was something many in the Section recognized quickly through her simulated bouts and exercises. She was capable of control, but there was still that tingling fear crawling up the back of his spine that if given the opportunity she may need to level a building or two to take someone down. Then again he was busy thinking about what could happen, instead of what will happen. As things stood in the midst of that smoke, he witnessed the emergence of some new force make a significant play against the creature that wielded smoke, and there was an engagement between those two now. It was difficult to process so much occurring in that single zone, but as long as the primary conflict was isolated in one part of the city it would make things easier to keep an eye on. As things appeared, the odds seemed to be tipped in Doa’s favor with an unlikely ally joined beside her.

“There’s a lot going on for you right now, and not enough time to dedicate processing it. If you find a window to reach that grove, try and take it. Something’s going on.” The bickering just behind him stopped with the remaining personnel in the room returning to monitoring. Law enforcement in Arcadia was hard-pressed all across the city and making a valiant effort to beat back the attackers while the majority of Section III’s remaining resources went to securing the bunker outside the city. There were obviously stragglers, but the law enforcement that remained was attempting to hold its ground desperately. The primary objective was keeping an entire civilian population safe, but with a huge majority of Section III’s power currently indisposed they would sustain greater casualties.

“Sir, we’ve got a problem!”

Snapped out of his train of thought, Henry looked over his shoulder towards one of the impressionable operators, a young woman appeared at a loss for words at a new discovery. Henry recognized fear, and it was something many in her position experienced. Working with Section III demanded a resilience to it that not everyone could produce when the time had come, but he hadn’t expected a job like this to be so frightening for her. Perhaps in this young operator, fair-skinned and blonde of hair, she recognized that she had a reason to be so fearful. “Report.”

“This is all over the media, and there’s talk of a military response already on its way. With the state of the Section now, I don’t know if we can stop them.”

Military commanders were notoriously aggressive to all except their superiors, a stereotype that Henry has seen proven true when ‘inspections’ of the Section were conducted in the past to make sure the surplus of funds Section III had received for developments and defense were well-spent. There were a moderate amount of people within the hierarchy of Elysium that were aware that Superhumans exist. That demons were not tales in old stories. That angels were certainly among us. Of course politicians and the like may also be aware that the bulk of Section III’s resources were off to assist another world in severe need, and with that gone they may have begun making their own decisions with Satoshi, the Director, away.

Henry Sato could be a man of action much like Connor, but this demanded a certain amount of tact. Satoshi leaving was a decision most of his close consultants found rash, but it was the only way to confirm potential targets. They had proven that the targets were obviously superhuman, but there was just no real telling of what all these resources were going towards. If Mayuka was one of the targets, then why was Arcadia the primary target for their forces? Military response would make the most sense to those ignorant of what was really happening here, but it also meant more casualties and destruction as well.

“Should I connect you with New Harmony’s politicians, maybe try to reach the President?”

“No,” Henry removed his glasses and looked back towards the monitors, folding it delicately and placing both hands behind his back. “Show me the broadcasts.”

The young woman complied, and across the wide monitors ahead of him were reports in different languages reporting on the exact same topic; Chaos had hit Arcadia, and pillars of smoke were apparent on the horizon. Despite the best efforts of Section III to immediately contain media involvement, it couldn’t be helped that some pockets of reporters were wily enough to get through the borders. This wouldn’t have been possible had they been fully staffed, but there was nothing that could be done about this now. Reporters in helicopters circling Arcadia from a safe distance, even those close enough to hear the gunshots of officers, everything was being broadcast and there was no current means of containing it. The only one able to bring this media storm to a grinding halt was currently within a grove miles outside of the city and unable to be reached.

“…How much time do we have left before those forces reach Arcadia’s borders?”

“W-well, by my quick estimation, maybe thirty minutes or a little more.”

Closing his eyes, Henry sucked in a deep breath through his nose and held it there. Things looked dark, but this was the responsibility held by the Section. They were the only force capable of dealing with this supernatural phenomenon, and if the military reached Arcadia it could give the enemy reason to go full force and slaughter more people. The fear and concern within this operating room was thick, and it took no superhuman senses to know that these men and women were afraid beyond belief, perhaps not for themselves but for the family and friends they prayed made it out safely during this crisis. It was no secret that not everyone was saved during the initial attack. Before this could reach a boiling point of panic and pain, Henry would beat them to the deep and dark question. Could they run?

“If you’re afraid and want to be safe with your families, I offer you my permission to walk away. But I promise you that the best way to help them right now is to stay right where you are, and keep your nerves steady. You may go if you don’t believe in what it is that Section III does, and what it’s prepared to sacrifice to do. I will not judge you for it, and I swear to you no repercussions will befall you.” Lowering his head, he opened his eyes again and stared at the console ahead of him. This pressure could make strong men break, and leadership was never easy for anyone, even the most experienced. Surprisingly, none within the room moved, and it was entirely still. Henry didn’t take himself for a man of compelling speeches, but perhaps they too knew that the only thing they could manage outside this room was cower and just fear for their loved ones.

“…Thank you, each and every one of you, for having the courage to remain. Keep me updated, and resume monitoring of Arcadia.” They were surely still in a state of anxiousness and panic, but they knew what they signed up for. They were prepared to see things through as he was.

Come on Mayuka …we’re counting on you most of all right now…
~-~

A downpour had befallen Arcadia, not by her own will but by the will of nature itself. Mayuka stood together, hand in hand, with her best friend in the middle of it all after a long day together. The invitational to this village, the home of her ancestors within the Watanabe clan, was a place rich with life and love. It was here that Ayumi and herself had realized that the closeness they held with one another was stronger than the term ‘friendship’ could define. It was just the pair of them outside, getting soaked, but they loved it all the same. At risk of cold’s and fevers they just stood there, staring, recognizing one another through the eyes and feeling through locked hands what their hearts were telling them.

At once, the lips of both had joined, and the kiss was wet enough even without the rain backing them up. This ‘walk’ they took was a common thing between them, Ayumi enjoyed the chance to witness small creatures exist and took pleasure in hugging those that didn’t flee, and they rarely did. Mayuka enjoyed seeing the raw natural world surrounding this village without threat of deforestation or abuse from littering and uncaring inhabitants. This land provided for the people that took care of it, and the people took care of it all the same. No one appreciated it more than them, and at this time no one else could understand what the other meant to them. They had just clicked from the very start, the best of friends, and the most merciful and kind within their age group.

This kiss between them was broken within several seconds of quiet acknowledgement, and by the time they looked each other in the eye once again, both pairs of lips quivered as if to speak, but the heart was telling them both instead.

They had found love together.

The memory was relived, but instead of the pleasure she should have taken in it Mayuka was frustrated that she couldn’t break out of this forced recollection. Her body was shaking as her mind’s body was inhabited by this intruder, and the struggle to remove him was tearing her apart. Holding her head, the attempt to reject him was still ongoing, but proving a considerable struggle. If she found peace, then perhaps there was a method of being freed, yet she was too focused on what this apparition was seeing. The interaction with Ayumi went farther beyond, but out of all her memories he continually looked to some of those most personal with her.

“Mayuka?” A little girl had turned around, idly holding the red rubber ball she was bouncing in her hands and facing her father. He was a tall man, but with maturity his youth hadn’t faded. He, like her and her brothers, held the azure hair that was a trait of her family. During bedtime her father had told her about his old home, and had promised to take her there someday to meet her grandparents for the first time. Aiden and Isaac had gone out with mother to help shop for dinner, and had begged for some ‘fast food’ again after last’s nights interesting attempt at spaghetti and meatballs. Mayuka had loved her family dearly, and upon seeing her father she set down her ball and pointed towards the sky.

“Look, mommy’s up there!” But when she looked up towards the sky again, the image she saw had faded. Mother had looked strange and weirdly taller, but Mayuka could recognize such a face anywhere. Now, she was gone. Her father had knelt down and hugged her, causing Mayuka to giggle and look back at him. She had the feeling he wouldn't believe her, but it wasn't the first time she claimed to see someone. Isaac called her goofy with a crazy imagination, but Aiden could see her too sometimes. “She was there, I swear, and she was beautiful!”

“I know she is …if I know her, she’ll come hold you herself soon.”

"How come she hides?"

"...She was always shy, but sweet. I think she's just working up the courage to meet you and your brothers."

"I hope its soon!"

"Heh ..so do I, sweetheart."


`~`

A look into the other half of an original, and irrefutable evidence of her connection to holy force ...this was confirmation that was sought, but being certain was never wrong.

Time grew short ...much more would see her expire.

There were two others, but not ideal. Power focused did not match power widespread.

He wouldn't find satisfactory in the others.

Nearly there ...a little further...

A form was hidden behind both the light and dark curtains of her heart, with further coaxing, perhaps He could...

 

[Piercing Light]

The smoke was becoming a serious pain by this point, every few seconds Doa had to clear it from around her using the car hood in her grasp. As she suspected, this smoke had special properties, and would not disperse for long. It would take a greater amount of force to get rid of it all together. She could blast it away, but she'd also destroy the entire city block in the process. The rattling of a chain perked her ears up, and she jumped back to avoid another of Vexil's chains. He was just messing with her. Somehow, he was perfectly fine in the smoke, and using his chains he had set up a barrier around the smoke to keep her in. He wasn't bothering to try and kill her with risky attacks, he was doing his job and stalling her after all. Suddenly, a strange sound came from behind her, a surreal whizzing that grated in her ears. Doa turned to face it, and from the smoke, Vexil watched. It was the same man that had summoned the whale, which was also missing conspicuously. At least, she figured it was the same man, he was in a goofy suit now, with his hair oddly poking out from it. He spoke to her, asking her to trust him. He still hadn't introduced himself, and now he was hiding behind a mask. This was an odd man. Doa took the key he handed her, and arched a brow at him.

She didn't have anything to lose by trusting him, at least it appeared that way. Doa thought of Mayuka, and what could possible be happening to her. It was worth the risk. "You have my thanks, spiky hair." Doa nodded and rushed off. Vexil was prepared to stop her, but Ty didn't let that happen. A beam was fired at him, one that he knew he had to get the hell away from. Reaching out with a chain, he grabbed a street light and yanked himself out of the way, and yet, he was still hit by something.

"What in the actual hell..." He groaned as the area he was just standing in exploded, and the streets were lit aflame. Vexil looked down and sighed. "Oh..." His cloak was also on fire, though he didn't seem very worried about it. "What's a little fire and brimstone?" Vexil shrugged, bluffing. Of course demons weren't immune to fire, but he had to maintain his cool, and that meant not rolling on the floor like a panicked worm in front of the enemy. He was about to tear the cloak from his body when Blanca chipped in unexpectedly. In it's clash with an angel, it had cleared away both it's smoke and the fire burning in the streets. Vexil made a mental note to thank Blanca later, and focused on Ty. He could only deal with one problem at a time, the pale one would just have to let this one slide. Lighting his entire body up with electricity, Vexil shot out the chains from his sleeves like a machine gun. He quickly extended the chains to impale Ty, then retracted them and shot them out again. This happened so fast that the chains were only a blur to the naked eye.

Meanwhile, Doa had run into a garage to look for a vehicle. She passed a few SUVs, and a few town cars. Too slow, she could run faster than these things. While she was looking, she Henry spoke to her from the HQ. Her head turned back to the street she came from. "Henry, I am the last one you should be worrying about, trust me." She suddenly skidded to a halt as she saw her prize; a dark blue sports motorcycle. "Perfect."

Soon Doa was tearing down the streets, her hair nearly horizontal from the wind blowing past her. On her way she had to avoid debris of all kinds, rubble from nearby buildings, overturned cars, it was a mess. Seeing the state of the city, it only irritated her further. She would not forgive even a single demon, any she saw from now on would be struck down without hesitation.

Silently fuming, Doa almost missed the trio a block away from her. Even from a distance she could see that one of them was Aiden. Swinging the motorcycle sideways, she skidded to a halt in front of him and the other two. She glared at the strangers, she didn't know them, and it was odd for anyone normal to just be hanging around. Aiden may have been protecting them, but even then why were they still here? Doa got off of the bike and walked over to Aiden. She moved behind him, and promptly removed Lucy as if she were excess luggage. She pulled Aiden to the side and spoke into his ear. "As I think you've noticed, Mayuka's gone missing, but I've spoken with Henry, and he told me that Connor has gone after her. She's in a grove on the outskirts of the city, we need to hurry to her." Doa looked back for a second at the other two in company. "Who are they?" She said, loud enough for them to hear.

 

[Lumine]

Her eyes followed the smoke curling at the tip of the angel's cigarette, drawing random shapes in the air. It reminded Claire of the many times she sat watching Alyss smoking at their dinner table as she worked on a case. She'd given up on asking her to quit it, Alyss was hard headed when she wanted to be. God, she missed her around.

"Alright John. You have a deal. I help you, you help me, and when that's all over, I'll acquire whatever information I can on Alyss." Oriel said, sealing the deal. At least Claire got what she wanted, some lead to start looking for Alyss. Suddenly John had his arm around her, pulling such a smug smile. She glanced at him sideways. For a man who looked so normal, even for a hunter who was into the thick of the other world all the time, John looked nothing like the grave lot she used to know. In fact, she found herself admiring his light-hearted attitude, it reminded her of Alyss. She couldn't suppress a small smile that crept on her lips as she looked back at Oriel. Again, he was taking the lead, like he has been into worse before... Well, most likely he was. Then again, he seemed to be holding back on a lot, like a player who wouldn't show all of his cards at the same time. Them calculative gamblers...

"What are these ingredients you need, exactly? And for what spell would you require them for?" Oriel asked as John Cleaned off the Angel's sword he had. She turned around to look at John. The sun was setting outside coloring the sky a sober red. Its rays spilled through the holes and cracks of the wrecked house, and in their light Claire saw the expression on his face. She knew then that he had a plan alright, but deep down, she felt something stir. She felt that something wasn't right...

"So what's the plan John?" She asked, curious. Claire wasn't the best type to follow blindly, she often needed to know what she is after, what is the end game. They still lacked information, but she was starting to get sense of what is going on. The pieces are falling into place but she wasn't liking what she is seeing. Angels are in no good standing in this war, and their Archangels are not ready to hit the field, not with Michael still looking for a vessel, Gabriel MIA and Raphael not helping. Demons on the other hand are on the move to set Lucifer out and bring about the apocalypse. They are the ones who are getting the edge here, they have found a way to do it and between angels and demons, humans are losing and hunters are getting wiped out. Not a very pretty picture.

All of that was going on and Claire was at the moment consumed by the question of asking about her mother. She hated herself, she hated how selfish she was, how self absorbed and ill-timed her want to know is, but she couldn't resist this one thing. All her life she wondered what happened to her mother? where was she? why had she never tried to contact her? She was sick worried about Alyss. She feared for the City, and all these people at danger, the world at the brink of a horrible change, yet she couldn't but allow herself this selfish act.

"Oriel, among the angels, Alyss used to know one. Her name is Bianca. Do you know where she is? what she has been up to?" Claire asked, her voice neutral, her expression one of natural curiosity. Lying was easy when you knew how it ticked and you did it all the time, a skill most hunters needed and earned in their career, and Claire learned it a long time ago.

Whatever she could know, whatever she could get out of this, one thing is for sure. She wasn't going to be staying still any longer. It is time to start turning the odds to their side.

 

[King Wolfe]

Elyse

Elyse let out horrible screams as the angels poked and prodded her with their electrical equipment. They had let Elyse out of her box and opted to strap her down to a divine metal table which was charmed against monsters and therefore burned Elyse’s skin. The angels on either side of her continually pressed their electrical tools into Elyse’s side and watched as her skin burned and instantly regenerated.

“She’s healing too fast,” Zachariah muttered. “The phoenix is too strong.”

“She’s probably developing a resistance to our devices,” Paul remarked as he poked her one more time but the electricity didn’t go through at all.

The moment of reprieve allowed Elyse to catch her breath and blink the tears from her eyes. She glared at the two angels, her eyes glowing molten red. “You pervs wanna keep your eyes up here?”

Angels were genderless and (sometimes) lacked sexuality being designed to be perfect soldiers, which is why it didn’t bothered them to keep Elyse completely nude for the sake of science. They had tested dozens of magic on Elyse and while it hurt her the phoenix rapidly healed her and over time developed a resistance to each torture method.

Frankly, that scared them more than they would’ve liked to let on.

“Why can’t we extract the phoenix?” Paul asked. “Leave the host alone? She’s just a mortal.”

“She’s a mage,” Zachariah corrected. “Hardly a mortal. And besides, the strongest sealing magic was placed on her so we couldn’t get the phoenix even if we tried.”

Zachariah held his hand over Elyse’s chest and she cried out in pain, convulsing violently as her skin burned. Right over her breasts a magical sigil appeared like scars from a severe burn. There was another sigil under the sealing one, the second one was designed to keep both angels and demons out and to protect the first seal.

“Only the most powerful sorcerer could’ve put those sigils on her,” Zachariah said, moving his hand away, the sigils healing on Elyse’s skin. “But it is curious…”

“What is?” Paul asked.

“Whoever put the sigils on her wanted to keep the phoenix in her,” he explained.

“How do you know that?”

“The phoenix chooses its host, like how we choose our hosts. It could very easily burn away her body and move on to another host, but someone put a sigil to keep the spirit in her and another sigil to keep us from taking it. What kind of a person would trap a phoenix in a girl?”

“You heard him,” Paul said to Elyse, scowling at her. “Who gave you those sigils?”

Elyse smiled a little. “Your mom and let me tell you she was handsy!”

Paul growled and slammed his tazer into Elyse’s stomach, stabbing her so deeply he electrocuted her from the inside. Before Zachariah could push Paul out of the way, Elyse’s entire body turned into solid ice, freezing his electrical prod.

The angels had to jump back to prevent being frozen and watched with confusion as Elyse became a solid ice statue.

“What…”

Elyse exploded in a fiery blast, throwing the angels off their feet. Suddenly she burst from the column of fire and landed on top of the angels, impaling the two of them with her hands, immobilizing them and burning them from the inside out.

Her eyes glowed terribly and her scowl wasn’t short of demonic. “You should have killed my host!”

The angels burned to a crisp, their bodies turning to ash within seconds. The Phoenix stood up, her body covered in flames, fiery wings protruding from her back. When the flames died a wicked black and red dress had remained, her red hair literally catching fire and her fire-wings becoming blood-red and feathery.

“This realm will burn, like everything else.”

The Phoenix walked out of the interrogation room and into the War Room with two dozen angels. Raising her hand, her eyes glowed like supernovas and the first half of angels were incinerated instantly. Before she could lay waste to the rest of the angels, however, Balthazar materialized behind her and stabbed her with the archangel blade.

She let out a horrible roar of pain and glowed brightly… but remained standing. The phoenix erupted in fire and had turned to face Balthazar, his sword still deep within her gut. With a growl, the phoenix grabbed Balthazar’s cheeks and began to melt the right side of his face.

With a horrible scream, Balthazar fought to remain conscious. He twisted the sword in her gut which did the trick, the phoenix’s power faded and she fell to the ground, her fire disappearing leaving behind Elyse’s nude and unconscious form.

Balthazar held the right side of his face, wincing in pain. It was completely melted off to the bone, if she were able to continue he definitely would’ve lost his head. Holding up his archangel sword to his face, it healed him instantly.

“This damned monster…” he gasped. “Lock her up in isolation and no one is to approach her!”

With hesitation the angels complied, dragging her body away.

Despite being close to death, Balthazar couldn’t help but smile at how perfectly dangerous the phoenix was… how perfect a weapon she would be.

“Now then… phase two…”

Lucy & Aiden

It was good that Jet was complying. Lucy was afraid she’d have to kill someone and she really didn’t want to kill Aiden. She was starting to like him, so hopefully Jet could prove to be a bigger distraction than she anticipated.
Lucy knew about Jet and although they had never personally met, they attended the same general assembly when going over the plan. So it was nice to have someone listen to her instructions so willingly, the power of command nearly got to Lucy’s head.

The thought that she commanded every demon on the planet and every other planet. It was intoxicating, she nearly let out a derisive megalomaniacal laugh when the other lady had showed up. She had shown up on one of those cool bicycles but it was faster, bigger and louder than a regular bike.

Lucy almost wanted to ask what the hell that was but decided to keep her mouth shut. Aiden’s shoulders relaxed when the lady showed up, which irritated Lucy, who was she?

Before any of them could say something, the lady had pulled Lucy off Aiden, something she didn’t take so lightly. Lucy squirmed and began swearing in a bunch of different languages: creole, Hebrew then Arabic.

This was a rough translation, but she said: “Release me, you wench or face the wrath of 1000 suns.”

But this lady was strong, maybe as strong as Aiden, and Lucy couldn’t get out of her grip. Instead she was placed on the ground and the lady took Aiden aside.

Lucy fumed at her sudden familiarity with Aiden, to the extent where she whispered in Latin to Jet, “Okay, here’s the plan. You kill her and get killed by Aiden…”

Aiden looked at Doa. It wasn’t everyday he was happy to see an alien but then he began to feel a little bad that he basically abandoned her. Still she didn’t hold it against him which was fine, he wasn’t in the mood to argue.

“I was headed there when I came across these two,” Aiden whispered back, raising an eyebrow at Lucy’s strange outburst. “They were being attacked by demons. The guy… I’m not so sure about. But the kid is Lucy Winchester, she’s nice enough.”

He looked over at the girl to find her glaring at Doa. “But now that you’re here, you can watch them!”

“What?!” Lucy exclaimed.

“I can head to Mayuka the fastest,” Aiden explained to Doa, ignoring Lucy. “You can watch Lucy and um… Little Mac over here.”

“Barney,” Lucy said. “He said his name is Barney.”

“Right, Barney and Lucy. I’m gonna go get Mayuka and we’ll regroup, easy peasy.”

“Except!” Lucy interrupted. “I don’t like this lady! She smells like self-loathing and social awkwardness. I’d rather go with you!”

Aiden grimaced. He had a hard time saying no to little sisters but if he took Lucy he’d be way too slow and Doa’s motorcycle only carried two people. Aiden glanced at Barney with a frown. He still didn’t trust that guy even if Lucy vouched for him, if he was a baddie it’d be irresponsible to leave him behind…

Almost as irresponsible to leave him behind with Doa.

Aiden took Doa aside and spoke softly, “Okay, we’ll all go together. I don’t exactly trust that guy.” Aiden looked over at Barney to see Lucy sitting on his shoulders, messing with his face so he that he was making weird expressions. “He seems sketchy.”

Finally, he turned back to the other two with a small smile. “Alright, we’re gonna go now, but we’re going on foot. Uh, no offense Doa, maybe you can get Henry to buy you a motorcycle when all of this is over.”

“Yay!” Lucy cried. She yanked on Jet’s hair slightly. “Mush!”

John

With his arm still around Claire, John maintained his grin even as he pocketed his stolen weapon. “Basic transport spell,” he answered. “So, I’ll need a griffin’s feather, faery bones, drakon’s blood, a needlessly large rod and a feather from your wings.”

Hopefully, Claire wouldn’t give away how strange an angel’s feather would be for a basic teleport but that was for another plan he had. Angels may have been around for a long time, but even they weren’t experts on arcane spells and rituals.

“You get started on that and we can get going!” John said with a cheerful voice before turning around with Claire in tow. He wasn’t sure how good Oriel’s hearing was (probably not that great if he couldn’t hear the commotion from earlier) so he muttered an Egyptian spell for silence so only Claire could hear him.

“I’m going to Hell,” he answered her. “Maybe I can get a better grasp of what’s going on from there, Heaven isn’t exactly a trustworthy source given what happened to Mio.”

He watched her face morph into an expression of worry and annoyance. “It’ll be fine, I’m only popping off for a mo’, but, just in case.”

John took Claire’s left hand. Magic coursed through his hand and into hers and when he let go there was a blue symbol on the palm of her hand. It was Atlantaen for “Link”.

“If things get hairy, just say my name into the symbol and it’ll teleport me there,” he explained. John then held up his own hand and showed that the same symbol was there as well, it faded after two seconds. “Same deal for me. It only works once, so, don’t call me to cut the crust from your sandwiches.”

“Oh, and Claire. Oriel may not know about you. But I do,” he said, his eyes taking a more dangerous light. “I’ve got my suspicions but so far you’re on the Home Team, so I’m not going to oust you or deport you to wherever you came from.”

The two of them spoke in hushed tones for a few more moments and when they finished with their conversation, John turned around and deactivated his silence spell. He grinned at Oriel and patted Claire’s head, ruffling up her hair in the process.

“You two get acquainted, I’ll get my spell set up. I think I fancy a trip downstairs, if you catch my drift.”

Dante & Naomi

In the battle-scarred street laid evidence of a long and terrible fight. Overturned cars, cracked and collapsed asphalt, heavily damage buildings and fires that barely remained lit throughout this battlefield.

They were jumped, faster than anyone could’ve reacted, even for the experienced god and angel. Dante and Naomi lay unconscious on the ground, their bodies scarred, bruised and bloodied. For a moment, it could even be thought that the two were dead… but no, they winced and shuffled awkwardly in pain.

Before them stood a somewhat tall woman. Her dark hair fell in curls over her back, her crimson eyes were fixed in pure hatred at the weakened god she carried in her hand, and her demonic aura poured out like crazy. Lupa struggled to stay conscious due to her injuries and this demon’s aura.

“Not as strong as I thought,” she muttered as she squeezed Lupa’s neck, causing the pup to whimper. “Ah, I should suppress my aura. I wouldn’t want to attract any attention…”

“A knight?” Lupa asked weakly, reverting to her archaic Latin tongue. “You were wiped out…”

“Who told you that?” the woman laughed. “Beelzebub? No, little goddess. We’re still around…”

Lupa opened her mouth and a blast of light shot out, overwhelming the woman’s face and burning it instantly. She dropped Lupa in surprise, giving Dante enough time to jump to his feet. Dante’s body burned with magic, his skin becoming lined with magical wards, changing to the color of the shadows, his eyes glowing bright gold.

Dante raised his hand, glowing with magic and shouted an incantation in an ancient language. The magical blast engulfed the demon and decimated the building behind her… but it didn’t kill her. The demon was left missing an arm, her face half-burned off, and with a wicked smile she stabbed Dante in the chest with her remaining hand.

The Black Mage coughed up blood, his magic beginning to fade as his skin and eyes returned to normal. With a weak Italian curse, Dante fell to the ground, unconscious.

The demon wiped her face with disgust. “Black Magic, nasty business…” Her arm began to reform and her face began to heal. “Still not enough.”

 

[ThePromise]

Memory upon memory flickered by, from the first time she met what was to become her group of friends, to constructing castles among sands on the beaches of her childhood, to meeting who was now her fiancé and to wed him in the foreseeable future. These feelings she had locked away in the depths of her mind were precious, precious enough that she was actively continuing her struggle to free her mind of such an intrusion. The way things appeared now, the girl was finding it difficult if not simply impossible. The One hovered over thoughts specifically, ones involving Mayuka and the one called ‘Ayumi’, as well as her family joined together in harmony. From cheerful memories of inviting friends over to share dinner with her family, to something as simple as afternoon walks, He saw it all, again and again, and the deeper he went the more he came to understand this woman and why she might be so important. Unfortunately she continued her struggle, and the more she tried to force a rejection the greater the possibility she’d die in the process.

Glimpsing at the last of her cherished memories, the One released himself from her mind’s body one last time, hovering just in front of her. The toll taken was starting to be apparent, her breathing ragged and hoarse, as if she’d run for miles at a time and screamed the entire way. The longer he stayed in front of her, the more the idea of killing her seemed plausible. Among the residents of that forsaken city of champions, those like her posed an overwhelming threat to the security of the grand scheme, especially with the class of power even her allies rightfully referred to her as. For the thousands of years this One had lived, there were those just like this girl who had been allowed to walk freely. In periods of overconfidence, in certainty of his schemes, it was people like the Ashford girl who had been there to stand in the way of his own individual goals time and time again. It was only befitting, only appropriate, that he be the one to snuff out this light once and for all, given that it was her ancestor that last...

“Why?”

He’d admit he was surprised she even had the energy to speak after the amount of focus Mayuka put into trying to cloud her mind against him. He hovered, a specter of silence and secrecy, watching her as she slowly picked herself back up, refusing to just remain kneeling and accept the powerlessness of her situation. He’d laugh if the look of resilience plain on that exhausted face didn’t keep his mood focused. He hated her features, the narrowed eyes of disapproval and weariness at this meeting, but most of all how she didn’t know when to accept the hopelessness of her situation. The reason she lived and breathed was because he allowed it, which was the truth. If Lucifer didn’t will this, then …

“I …I asked you …a question. Why?” Mayuka asked hoarsely, standing tall in the face of something she couldn’t feel, couldn’t reach, and couldn’t properly see. This being of nothing had successfully entered her memories multiple times, searching for things in her past in such a mismatched order that it was nearly impossible to determine what it was all for. Knowing her own limit, she believed that if he had continued on his current path she would most certainly die like this. The bitter chills of its presence were making her entire body freeze, and only her will kept her body still from those violent shakes. She was angry at his intrusion, but at the same time she was at peace with herself once she accepted that fighting him with conventional means was impossible. Her mana couldn’t reach it like this, which meant that an impure aggression was impossible. Untouchable. Yet still, even at its mercy, this being just hovered in front of her. Within the maroon rags that cloaked its form she couldn’t see into the deep darkness beneath the hood, but it didn’t stop her from trying.

“Tell me!” she shouted, causing her to breathe harder and show just how weak she had become from this constant tug of war that she had without a doubt lost. If it was to kill her, it wasn’t taking the opportunity.

…In due time.​

Her eyes widening, the being’s power erupted and blackness spread throughout the expanse of dust and echoes of a fallen city. Reacting automatically, she brought her left arm over her mouth as brilliant light radiated itself from her body, shielding her from what she believed to be one last attack. Instead the darkness that poured forth from the maroon being soared skyward and dispersed itself, and the light that radiated itself from her body began to blind even herself as the world around her disintegrated in a brilliant glow of red and blue at the very same time. Then, nothing but silence as everything faded.

~-~

Connor flew backwards from the sheer force of the power that resonated from Mayuka’s body, but it was no force of hers he was familiar with. From her chest a dust-like matter emerged and took towards the sky in a brilliant display of red and black. The matter gathered in a ring, rotating for several moments at a time, until it had dispersed in all directions until nothing remained. The temporary leader of Section III quickly got back to his feet and took one long-lasting look at the sky. What had left Mayuka’s body was powerful and left a discomforting chill in the air, and to completely vanish like that wasn’t unthinkable, but disappointing.

What had snapped him out of his stare was the sudden gasp for air from the previously near-lifeless form of Mayuka, which had caused him to instinctively hustle beside her again and kneel down. Placing a strong hand to her back as the young woman brought a hand to her chest and found life, Connor breathed a sigh of relief that she was awake again, and breathing as though she hadn’t taken a breath of fresh air in hours. He also happened to notice that his earpiece, which was earlier plagued with a high volume of static interference, was now eerily silent. His mind raced with questions, but what was important now was making sure she was safe and unharmed.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

If it wasn’t for the fact her body felt like ice and her need to have Connor support her as she sat up, she might’ve chuckled in response to that. There were things she wanted to know, but for now she was glad to be alive, to be breathing real air, and to awake next to someone like Connor.

“…Something like that. Is everyone okay?”

“I can’t say. The entire area surrounding this place fell off the radar, we couldn’t find you …that’s why I’m here.” Bringing her arm over his shoulders, Connor helped Mayuka to her feet and quickly rushed over to his earpiece. Retrieving it, he placed it back in his left ear and began an attempt to reach HQ.

“Let’s see what we’ve missed.”

~-~

“Sir.”

Henry was deadlocked on the various news reports, even as audio from each was ongoing he still seemed to be picking things up without fail. The most that many of these news stations could pick up were plumes of smoke on the horizon, and he was incredibly thankful that at the very least some good at come from the military presence that was coming down on Arcadia. Media presence was prohibited, and it was dubbed a no-fly zone within thirty miles of the city. Strangely enough, there was a report of one chopper that had entered the limits shortly before the military involvement was confirmed, but it wasn’t identifiable, nor worth more reporting.

“Go ahead.”

“There’s …something you’ll want to see. Right now.”

“Put it on.”

Henry watched as the various news stations flickered and went dark, with surveillance resumed all across the city. Plumes of smoke filled the sky, some buildings still aflame, and corpses littered the street as casualties of the attack. It was gruesome to even spectate, but there was something different about the city. The guns had stopped firing, the law enforcement that remained scattered across the city began to disperse. In that short time period, things had changed immensely, almost as though what transpired in Arcadia was completely caused by itself.

“This is Owens, glad to see you got communications running.”

In the middle of his awe, Connor’s voice rang through completely unhindered by static interference.. This registered with everyone within the room, but Henry had begun to piece things together in the depths of his mind. The line between Connor and headquarters was never actually severed; it was kept open just in case they caught a break and it was freed, and by some stroke of luck he had reached them once more. Based on the tone of his voice, Mayuka had to have been safe too which only helped calm Henry’s nerves. This meant Doa would be able to control herself, and Aiden wouldn’t go into some sort of blood rage in order to seek her out.

“Connor, it’s good to hear from you. We were starting to worry. Are you and Mayuka both safe?”

“Affirmative, she’s a little cold but she’s okay. I’ll explain more when we get back. How’s the situation with Arcadia?” Connor brought Mayuka’s arm around himself once more and began to lead her out of the grove, which had remained peaceful in spite of the nightmare that had emerged from Mayuka’s body. The only reason he hadn’t begun to babble about such a thing is because it must’ve been a hell in itself to have that thing within her. A personal attack, but one she walked away from all on her own. She didn’t believe it herself, but Connor saw a fighter in her, as did her brothers. It was only Mayuka herself that refused to believe herself more than what she was.

For a small period of time Henry had remained silent which immediately worried Connor. It was his responsibility to oversee everything that occurred within the city and respond accordingly, but Mayuka was a much more pressing matter. Satoshi asked that she remained behind for a reason despite heading to the world her ancestors were born and raised in, and thankfully she didn’t need to showcase such a reason to the enemy. Concerned, Connor glanced at Mayuka for a moment and she had returned a glance of concern all the same. She, too, wanted to know what was wrong since her passing out.

“Henry, are you there?”

“Yes. My apologies. We've got quite the situation on our hands. Military involvement twenty minutes from Arcadia and no story to cover this catastrophe up.”

“One thing at a time. The priority is beating them back.”

“I don’t think we’ll need to worry about that any longer.”

Connor and Mayuka had made it outside of the grove as fast as the young woman’s legs would allow her to walk, but the new information Henry shared had both exchange glances of surprise and uneasy relief. Glancing back towards Arcadia in the distance, neither seemed able to believe that what he said was true.

~-~

Vanished.

Every vile demon that thirsted for blood and murder, whether healthy or weak enough to be injured by high-speed pellets of trivial design, had vanished as quickly as they had emerged. Arcadia’s streets were riddled with the blood of the innocent and the shattered remains of once strong buildings. From candy stores and malls to small places of financial business and arcades, Arcadia was in silent ruin. The law enforcement that lay scattered, beaten, and broken throughout the city were busy accepting the reality of creatures they could barely see tore across the city and they were barely able to put up a fight of any kind. As trained as they were, no force they posed did anything to contain or halt this threat, and what was worse, the radios they used to keep in contact had found an eerie static emerging from them. Instantaneously the invasion had completely vanished, and Arcadia was dead silent with only the moans of the injured and the idle sounds of flames to fill in the gaps.

The One relished in such a sight. Recalling every force within the city, as well as those individuals he gave specific tasks to, the One had used but a single word that had no reason to be refused.

Retreat…​

He had called them back to the depths whence they came and arguments would be met with a slow death. With his dispersion from the Ashford girl, he had made a swift and silent return to the wasteland that had existed since time immemorial. Hell. It was within Hell that what Lucifer deemed a ‘temporary base of operations’ for the Cult, referred to as ‘Castle Tartoro’. Once owned by highly influential families within upper-class society, it had been abandoned nearly a century and a half ago and left to its own affairs. The owners clearly didn’t intend to return, and the most it served to the upper-class was a source for horrific stories to pass around to small children. Even demons told ghost stories to their young.

The Pale One had made his return ahead of any others, his spectral form entering the lone and still body of an elderly male whose age could not be read by appearance alone. Resuming full control of the body in question, he had taken just a few seconds before he had slowly sat up from his seated position on a lone, red armchair resting in front of a fire place in the corner of a single room in this grand fortress. Slowly, the eyes shrouded in darkness opened themselves to the dull light ahead of him. A red-handled cane was practically glued to his right hand and helped keep him steady, while beads of red-black-blue shifted slightly wrapped around his left hand. If identification wasn’t already difficult given his pale skin and gray hairs atop his head, the cloak he wore resembled him in his spectral form entirely. Ragged maroon covered him from head to toe, the only means of identifying him being physical had to have been the fact only his wrinkled cold hands were exposed, as well as the black slipper-shoes on his feet. The Pale One had returned to his body, and proceeded outside of the dusty room and into the dreadful dark halls of Castle Tartoro.

From the windows he passed, the sky within this section of Hell was an ominous red, with a sun you never see and a distant rumbling of a rain that never came. The earth surrounding this land was cracked, dead trees surrounding it. Where life might once have been present even in this god forsaken place only death and decay surrounded it. The silence was broken only by his cane, making a very distinct and nerve-shaking thump on the carpeted floors below him. Portraits of high-class society were now empty, save for but a few that the previous owners not bother taking. Furniture was an issue, but he had made some small efforts in allowing the more privileged of the Cult acquire the bare essentials should they choose to reside here. A bed of fine quality, drawers and tables, candles and incense, mirrors and …yes, even toiletries. It was trivial and there was no pleasure in making sure it was gathered, but it was done. Should they desire more than a bed to rest within, acquiring it was ultimately up to them. He felt that Lucifer wanted them pampered, but was assured that there should be some manner of quality for those who chose to follow his ideal world.

Descending down a narrow staircase in a wide spiral in the lower chambers of the castle, far from the kitchens, the dining hall, the lounge and more, the Pale One found that the chamber he sought to find was looked over by his personal servants. Wraiths cloaked in black hovered above ground eerily, keeping a silent and obedient watch over this narrow hall near the very grounds where he chose to do his work. Passing by, the wraiths stayed silent, knowing that permission wasn't a question when the Pale One was involved. They were born and bred to do his bidding, never to question, never to think freely, never to step out of bounds. Before this final chamber was to be entered, the One halted his pace and glanced to the wraith to his nearest right.

“…Do not allow them time to find comfort. I have another task pending, and preparations are nearly completed. Gather them in the main hall.” In silent understanding the wraith he charged with delivering the message to each of them, whether it needed to traverse a long distance or not, was quick to rise above the ceiling and leave the immediate area. Almost instantly another wraith had taken its place watching the entryway. With the information set to be delivered to each of the ‘prized’ upper-class, The Pale One continued down the hall and pressed upon a stone slab just ahead of him. With sufficient enough force, the stone wall had begun to fold into itself and parted to reveal another passageway. Those who were curious had already been told that this section of the Castle would double as a temporary lab for himself. After immediately stepping inside, the wall silently folded itself back up again as though nothing had transpired. The corridor he traversed in was dimly lit with everlasting candles of blue flame, the further he descended the bright it seemed to grow.

At last he had emerged into his personal quarters, complete with a set of tomes both recent and ancient, trinkets he had acquired over the years, and shelves lined with liquids and spine-tingling objects and materials of all occasions. Back in his potion and elixir days he would spend hours crafting new concoctions only because he had the time, and the means, to see his creations brought to life. The chamber was, otherwise, empty and devoid of all life. There was something deeper within the chamber that had come to life, flames of red opposite of the blue coming to life and surrounding an ancient and fearsome prison with a void so deep that it put his own cloak’s ability to shame. Within it contained the very being that had put this all together.

Lucifer himself.

“I’ll trust you have no reason to second guess that girl as the one you've seen?” he muttered, inching himself closer to the prison without fear when all other life in this Hell might have second guesses. To think that he’d be trapped in a place so dark and eldritch that even previous holders of this place wouldn’t have known what lied beneath the castle. Perhaps the last owners felt him, brooding and bitter beneath the castle as they shared in fine drink and adultery. So began the stories that young demons passed to their peers around a campfire.

The once powerful Lucifer, reduced to such a cramped and pathetic prison, and nothing more than part of a myth told by small children.

How the mighty have fallen...

 

[Piercing Light]

“Lucy Winchester?” Doa did not find anything odd with the name, however she repeated it with a hint of skepticism. She had no reason to distrust this girl, and no reason to trust her. With indifference, was how she would be treated as of now. Aiden tried to pawn the two civilians off on her, while he went ahead to find Mayuka. She wasn’t a babysitter, and he knew that, didn’t he? Lucy was apparently far less enthused than she was, the girl insulted her. Doa was tempted to change her view of indifference to one of scorn. She was about to voice her displeasure at the idea, after all they both had better things to do than this. But then Aiden spoke up, requesting that they go together. Doa arched an eyebrow at him, not sure if he was serious. “If anyone here is ‘sketchy,’ it is that girl. Even if she has no power and is unable to comprehend the demons, she would be able to see all of this chaos. Yet she doesn’t seem to be worried in the least, neither of them do…” She contested the plan, but it seemed it was going to happen regardless. Doa let out an annoyed sigh, and glanced at the motorcycle she drove here. “Why have him buy one when he could build one far better?” Doa said, with not a hint of jest.

They were prepared to leave, but then something strange happened. All of the chaos in the city, the sounds of screaming and demons running amok, it stopped. Doa was unable to sense them directly, but it did not take sensory abilities to tell that the malice in the city was gone. Her eyes narrowed, and she looked to the sky. “Aiden, they’re gone… yes?” She mused, cupping her chin with a quizzical expression. She should have been glad, but this didn’t feel right. Surely the demons were not pushed back enough at this point to merit a retreat. This didn’t feel like a victory, it left a bitter taste in her mouth. She thought to her and Mayuka’s exchange with the demons in the grove, and what they were after. This entire attack was orchestrated just to claim Mayuka. Doa clicked her teeth in annoyance. “Aiden, forget these two, we need to move.” Doa hopped back on the motorcycle, and sped off.
The ride back to the grove was nauseating; her chest felt as if a tank were resting on it, her mind was as foggy as milky water. Mayuka is fine; she is one of the strongest people on the planet. Doa repeated this to herself, ignoring the fact that for the first time in years she was worried about someone.

Nearly leaping from the motorcycle, Doa dashed across the grassy plains, with Aiden close by her. She soon reached the grove. Her eyes went as large as the full moon. Standing just outside of the grove was Mayuka, along with Connor. Doa quickly made her was over to them. Connor was helping her walk, she didn’t know what had happened to Mayuka, but it had clearly taken a lot out of her. “Mayuka…” Doa said her friend’s name with great relief. She could feel her eyes watering up, she blinked and wiped her face to hold it back. “I did not know what to think when you did not follow me to the city. I am… so glad to know that you are alright.” She glanced at Connor. “Excuse me.” She said, motioning to let him know that she wished to take his place as her help. She wasn’t taking no for an answer. Doa hoisted Mayuka onto her back, letting her rest her legs. “I won’t be letting you walk until you look respectable again, understand?”

 

[nightmarezeroX9]

Oriel simply nodded at John's request of items. All of the items he needed were all strange, but Oriel would be able to get them. It was unknown, however, how long it would take him to acquire them. Things like these weren't really needed for a basic transport spell. No, this type of spell was definitely advanced in some sort of way. While he was standing here, he might as well get started getting the easiest item of them all. His wings suddenly appeared, as Oriel made them visible to the two in front of him. He brought him them to the front of his view, and plucked a feather right off of it. His wings disappeared from view again, and Oriel handed the feather over to John. The two people in front of him turned around, and it looked like they were talking. Oriel couldn't hear a single word the two were saying. It seemed like John used a silence spell. Whatever he wanted to keep secret with Claire was fine. He wasn't about to start questioning every little thing John did. People that were associated with him knew much better than to do that. While the two had their little conversation, Oriel figured now was a good time to quickly grab the ingredients that John required. Within the blink of an eye, he was gone. He had teleported away to areas unknown.

Within several seconds, Oriel had easily grabbed all of the items John asked for. Luckily for him, while he was going around all willy nilly without a care in the world, he came across a wounded drakon. Acquiring the blood from it made it so Oriel didn't have to lift a finger, but he also felt a little bad for leaving the poor thing behind like that. His worry soon went away, however, once he remembered how those creatures can be a complete pain in the ass, seeing as they enjoy eating unsuspecting humans. With the ingredients sitting in a burlap sack, Oriel reappeared in the same spot he left, this time holding the said sack. He arrived just in time enough for John and Claire to turn around, looking at Oriel now holding the sack. He lightly swung the thing in front of John, as to entice him. Oriel placed it down on the ground beside him, grinning at John. It seems the silence spell was gone, so Oriel could hear plain as day the question that Claire had ask. Her question caused a perplexed look to creep on on Oriel's face. Bianca. A name he hadn't heard in a while.

"She disappeared about 20 years ago. Most people think she's dead. I could see why, since no one ever found her." Oriel said. His expression turned to a dark one. Bianca was someone he could have called a friend, and her suddenly getting up one day and vanishing from everyone's radar was definitely worrisome, to say the least. Oriel did partake in the searches that were called for her, but after no one turned anything up, the searches stopped. Deep down, however, Oriel thought she was possibly alive, somewhere. For an angel to disappear like she did, however, never did bode well. Pushing those thoughts back into his head, he looked at John and Claire once more, tired expression switching to his face.

"Alright John, here's your shit. Do whatever you have to do so we can all move along." An explosion rang out in the air. By the sound of it, it occurred only a few blocks away. Instinct told Oriel to go check out the situation, but judging by the mass chaos that was going on in the city, he brushed it off as a building that had exploded due to a raging fire. Oriel instead took his place back in the chair that he sat in earlier, and patiently waited for John to complete his transport spell.

 

[purgatory]

The angel had to compose herself before she continued her conversation further. As if through some means of intuition, or innate sense of danger she carried within her this disturbing suspicion. As the demons began to recant their positions, and were leaving, crawling back into hell spires, these incredulous cracks in the ground. Such a sight was rather...disgusting to watch. Bringing in her hands, Oiri started another divine evocation, as she prayed to the maker.

Take hold of me oh father of oneness
Remove me from dangers, carry me to safety
In the graces of your charity, I ask to return
I pray the flight will be secure and short.

As she finished her chant, from the corner of her eye she could see the demon she'd tossed and turned with looking at her from the opening in the building she'd been thrown from. An interesting stare that it seemed to have proposed to her, it survived an evocation, but was strangely not hellbent on reducing her to dust. As the light enveloped the angels, her wings became visible and covered her wrapping all around tight. As she spun, she phased out of the way, enacting a time consuming portal, that vanished as the wings were sucked into the light portal and it vanished along with it.

Blanca stood in the window, watching the angel vanish and placed its hand on the broken wall. It was time for them to retreat, Arcadia had seen enough of their kind for the time being, the demon felt far less recluse now than when it arrived. It seemed to gain experience while encountering those deceptive unholy "dicks with wings" so it's mind made this the proper description. Something however began to knaw at Blanca's intrigue that was just disturbing, The Angel's name. It was Oiri...? It could hear a conversation Oiri was having, well this was just a speculative assumption, but maybe it was a one time thing...it left Blanca unanswered and all the more intrigued.

Blanca proceeded to sigh and felt it's body peel and crack, as its skin was becoming ash. The surface beneath its feet, ripping open slowly as he was spawning something of a Hell Gate that the other demons used to retreat back to their dominion. Heretics bound to the fires, were clawing and reaching all arms out, pulling Blanca into the gate, and a psychotic gaze was being written across the demon's face, as it laughed hectically and was carried along the desired route by the heretics who's souls were bound between the hell gate and the mortal world (Limbo is what we'll call it). The tugging was gruesome and brutal, parts of the demon's skin were being peeled as it floated along the hands before it was thrown on the first solid ground it could find. For now, Blanca was to return to Castle Tartoro, it would need to have a ventured conversation with Vexil, that much could be certain.

Still possessing the likeness of a woman, nude, and in hell, the quadriga may as well have been a succubus. Alluring, scandalous, and deadly all the same. Crushing it's fist, transformed into something of a eight foot ogre-esque demon, its pale violet color, and grim demeanor would assure other demons would leave it be. Blanca had also easily shifted it's own weight to well over half a ton thanks to its size-distortion to control it's weight. Thumbing along from there, it's demeanor and appearance were legitimate so long as it didn't shape-shift, clone, or use its smoke powers to give itself away. As it's own grunting ensued, it quickly traveled by foot to the castle off in the distance.

The means of how this was known, was virtually similar to the last time it had received instructions, it was best not to make sense out of it and comply post-haste.

 

[Cassette-Disk]

All things considered, things could be worse. It wasn't going exactly according to plan, but then again nothing ever really does. The extra that had arrived seemed to add on to the pressure, but she barely seemed to notice Jet at all, or care for him. Which was awesome. He had played the role of the sucker so far; a man who can't do anything right. If he was viewed as weak, he wouldn't be considered a threat. When Doa picked the child up, Jet had a hard time keeping a straight face as she vividly protested.

“Okay, here’s the plan. You kill her and get killed by Aiden…”
Great, more foreign tongue.
"You jealous?" Jet teased her quietly. When Aiden pulled the new woman aside, Lucy took the time to climb onto his shoulders and mess with his fantastically sculpted face. Well, he thought it was fantastically sculpted, anyway. Though at the moment it was currently stretched and tugged around like a vat of play-doh. "Barney?" He asked as his speech was becoming less coherent thanks to his new face-molder. "Sheweshly? You could 'ave chum up wid sumtwing betta." He was being toyed with. But again, playing the part of the sucker never hurts even if the person believing it is on your side. It never hurts to be underestimated.

"Mush!"
Retreat…
Hoo boy.

Jet put his hands in his pockets.
"You're adorable." He told Lucy with a smile as she tugged on his hair. He gripped at a card in his pocket as the ground began shake slightly. "Uh, guys?" He asked, filled with uncertainty. A small circle appeared below his feet as pieces of pavement inside it began to crumble. "Aw crap." Jet said before jumping away from the circle. A hand reached out from the newly formed abyss and gripped Jet's leg, causing him to fall face first. The red hand began pulling him back into the circle. "Crap crap crap!" Jet cried. "I knew that getaway was too easy!" He began clawing at the ground, trying to break free from the demon's grasp when a second hand grabbed his other leg, easily dragging him closer to the inky blackness. He desperately grabbed at the ledge as he was pulled downward, suddenly realizing that Lucy was still on his shoulders. "Get outta here, kid!" He cried to her, freeing his left hand and grabbing her by the collar before throwing her away from the circle. Hopefully Aiden would catch her. Or not, either way it was a great way to keep the pair away from him and having them 'rescue' him. His gripped was pried away from the ledge and as soon as he fell, the pavement above him quickly reformed itself.

"It feels like I was just here yesterday." Jet said as he landed smoothly on his feet. Whatever this was about, it might help him with Aiden and Doa later on as well. He could put himself in a position of needing rescuing, cementing his role as a helpless sucker. That wasn't important right now, what was important was that a familiar looking lady with a familiarly intoxicating tail walked up to him. "Well, hello there." He said to the succubus. "Glad you're not dead."

 

[King Wolfe]

John

John sat in the middle of a freshly made pentagram with his various ingredients all crushed up in a wooden bowl. He added the last ingredient, the glowing white feather he had received from Oriel, but at the last moment swiped it for a fake feather and quickly ignited the bowl before anyone could notice the switch.

Sorry mate, John thought, I need an insurance policy with things like this…

Carefully and quietly, John tucked the real angel feather within his sleeve and brandished a clear sphere containing water.

“Ugh, next stop….” John muttered as the magical ingredients burned up, their aroma hitting him like a truck. It perfectly stunk of sulfur and death, just what Hell was all about. Granted this spell was a better way to get into Hell, still, it didn’t mean he had to like it.

The smoke from the bowl rose up and wrapped itself around John, more and more until it practically encased him like a sarcophagus. John blinked and stood up.

The house was gone, the entire continent was gone. What remained was a nightmarish wasteland. The ground was the color of blood, the sky resembled a swirling sand vortex, heavy and hot winds blasted against John as he turned around and adjusted his coat.

The place looked like a nuke went off, scratch that, it was more like 10 nukes. Skeletal remains scattered the ground, except they were nearly decomposed, some of them were half-buried in the dirt, flesh and blood still covering their bones as they writhe in agony trying to escape the quick-sand like ground.

The newborns of Hell. John was meticulous in stepping on their faces as he walked across the plains.

He looked up into the storm. The storm ringed around the entire wasteland, sealing the whole place in a sandy dome and in the center, right above the destroyed city, was a large greenish sphere oscillating like an eyeball looking down. The thought was creepy, so John instead focused on the buildings that were composed of the bodies of the damned.

Man, what did someone have to do to be made into mortar?

The storm rumbled above, the sound crashing throughout the wasteland like the voice of God. Well, down here there was only one God. John looked up again and noticed these… things traveling up the storm and into the eye. No they weren’t traveling up, they were coming from the eye, traveling down into the city.

Shit.

The demons were coming back? Why?!

John broke out in a sprint, not really sure what he was looking for but he ran like a maniac, looking at every skyscraper for something, for some clue. What was he hoping to find, Lucifer’s cage? Demon HQ?

Just as the thought crossed his mind, more thunder crashed behind him, and when he turned to look he noticed a massive castle off into the distance. Well, it looked more like a friggin’ fortress to him but it was massive, evil, and every demon from the vortex was heading right toward it.

“Ask and he shall receive,” John muttered. He turned to head for the castle when a bright light appeared to his right. In a nondescript, derelict building came an impossibly bright light that reminded John of divine magic.

That was impossible. Divine magic couldn’t exist in Hell.

Well, when in doubt head for the impossibility.

It took a few minutes, but John broke into the building, it was warded against angels, strangely enough. Good thing John wasn’t an angel.

He headed for the basement, where the light seemed to be emanating. When he got there, the stink of blood and corpses violated his senses. John nearly gagged from the smell alone, the sight was almost that bad.
Blood covered the walls, like not blackened, dried blood but gallons upon gallons of fresh blood poured from the walls and into the ground. It didn’t pool on the floor, just sorta going down further into some theoretical ether dimension. The bodies of burnt demons littered the ground, let John tell you that cooked demons didn’t exactly smell like Sunday barbeque.

The blood on the wall sometimes formed words and symbols. Words in English, Latin, Greek, Daemonic, Enochian appeared and disappeared just as quickly. Then there were words and symbols from languages even John didn’t recognize, ancient languages that looked like they were invented before humanity itself.

John stepped on the ground, it felt sticky but at the same time grainy, like sand, it shifted and stuck to his shoes as if it wanted to make John part of the architecture. That’s when he saw her.

She was hung up in chains on the back wall, there were dozens of wards on and around her. She looked painfully thin, battered and bruised like a hostage from terrorist cells, well considering this is Hell that was probably closer to the truth that he would’ve liked. Her coffee-colored complexion was marred with cuts and bruises, she hung naked on the wall, hung down with her arms outstretched like a T.

Jesus imagery, this wouldn’t bode well.

Her long caramel curly hair fell down in front of her face, but John instinctively recognized who it was.

“Gabriel,” John said as he approached her. At the sound of her name, Gabriel’s wings appeared. They were much larger than a normal angel’s, taking up the width of the room, but they looked horrible too. Her feathers were plucked individually and it looked like someone hacked at her wings with a chainsaw.

The archangel lifted her head up weakly, once her golden eyes met John, she chuckled bitterly. “Perfect, just what I needed. John, bloody, Winters saving me…”

John grabbed her chains but it burned him. He muttered a curse as he brandished an old piece from a shroud. Grabbing the chains again, John muttered a spell in Hebrew and the chain exploded, freeing Gabriel’s left hand.

She was so weak, John had to support her from slumping over. He went to work on her other hand.

“How did you get… past the guards?” she asked weakly. “Abaddon—“

“Shut up,” John said as he freed her other hand. “We need to get out of here. Do you have any angel mojo left?”

John had to struggle to keep Gabriel up as he wrapped his coat around her, she wasn’t very tall and looked pretty thin but she was as heavy as a refrigerator. Gabriel was incoherently mumbling something in Enochian, great, she wasn’t going to be much use.

After what felt like forever, John finally dragged Gabriel out of the house and limped toward where he landed. It’d be easier if he went over there, the pentagram was still painted there, but he wasn’t sure if he could make it lugging an archangel there. She gave off a presence that probably alerted every demon in Hell…

Dante & Lupa

Abaddon lifted Dante up by his neck. The man was dying but he could still manage one last death glare at the Knight. Abaddon had to appreciate his spunk, most of her victims never had this much strength.
“Still conscious?” she asked playfully. “I was sure the hole in your chest would’ve killed you by now.”

She glanced down at Dante’s body, her eyes widened as she realized his wound began to heal itself. “Hm, that’s interesting…”

She lifted her free hand, prepared to make another hole in his chest when a presence suddenly jolted her senses. Abaddon looked around worriedly, she was completely alone here but she could’ve sworn she sensed an archangel…

Her expression turned to horror and anger as she dropped Dante. “Gabriel…”

In a puff of smoke, Abaddon disappeared, leaving Dante, Lupa, and Naomi to their deaths.

John

John exploded.

Literally, an explosion tore through John’s shirt and blew him across the street and Gabriel in the other direction. He rolled to his feet, groaning in pain. Looking down at his shirt, John tried hard to remain conscious. His shirt was torn up and his chest was bloodied and cut up, his vision began to go blurry and his body became numb.

Crap, he was going into shock.

The woman who blew him up stood before him with a wicked grin.

She wore a studded leather jacket which matched her black shirt with a cartoon Satan dancing on it. Her fiery red hair cascaded down her back like an inferno, her black jeans was marred with dried blood and her boots had tiny bones embedded in it. John didn’t want to know whether the bones were real or not.

He didn’t recognize her (which was a first) but not knowing the name of someone who wants to kill you wasn’t that big of a deal.

“Well, well,” she said with a smile. “Here I thought the angels were leading a rescue party to save little Gabe. Turns out, it’s just an exorcist.”

John looked over at Gabriel, she was slumped over right behind the demon and wasn’t moving. John wasn’t sure if angels needed to breath… but the demon walked over and kicked Gabriel in the stomach and she retched violently.

“Wait till the Pale One meets you!” the demon laughed. “I’m sure he’ll be interested in the only exorcist stupid enough to break into Hell. As for Gabriel…”

She looked down at Gabriel and tilted her head as if sad or disappointed. “Now that she’s free, it’d be pointless to chain her back up. Lucifer could probably sense her… So..”

Calmly, she stepped on Gabriel’s neck and snapped it. The archangel convulsed before laying perfectly still. “We can take her angelic grace later, BUT, as for you…”

She looked over at John and grinned broadly. “I think you deserve a deluxe trip to see Paley.”

“No thanks,” John weakly mumbled. “Don’t know ‘bout you, but my mum taught me not to go with a psychopathic demonic bitch.”

“You are cute,” she laughed, approaching John and stepping on his chest, making him roar in pain. “It would be a shame to kill you.”

“Can’t say the same about you!” John pulled out his sword and slashed at her ankle. She cried out on pain and fell to one knee, John pounced and drove his sword right through her chest.

Her body flashed with electricity… but she just looked even angrier.

“Sorry, honey, need a bit more juice to kill me,” she said.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Abaddon, my friends call me Abby. Well, they would if I had any friends.”

A psychic force threw John off Abaddon and he landed with a grunt next to Gabriel. Abaddon got to her feet and made her way to John.

“Changed my mind, you’re going die, exorcist.”

John threw himself on Gabriel and fumbled with his pockets. He pulled out Oriel’s feather, it glowed with power and it was his only shot. John cupped the feather over Gabriel’s mouth, her body glowed and healed itself but she still remained unconscious.

John looked at Abaddon and gave her one of his famous shit-eating grins. “Get in line.”

He smashed the vial of water he had on Gabriel’s chest…

A minute after John disappeared, he exploded into the room steaming and coughing violently as he carried Gabriel in his arms. Weakly, John looked up to Oriel then down on his bleeding chest.

“First aid?” he asked as his head slumped over unconscious.

Dante & Lupa

Dante woke up to Naomi crying over him. She had been applying first-aid to Dante, apparently, as she had been going chest compressions while resuscitating him. When Naomi noticed he was conscious, she began to cry some more and hugged him, Dante groaned in pain from the angel bear-hug.

Naomi broke the hug quickly and placed a hand on his forehead.

“Your magic has healed you,” she explained. “I can’t access my magic, however, Abaddon had weakened me to that extent. I’m useless.”

Dante wanted to protest and explain that she had basically revived him but he was so exhausted he couldn’t say anything. Something warm and furry began to move around on his right hand, when Dante looked he noticed it was Lupa, well, the baby version of Lupa.

The wolf goddess was always tiny but she was palm-sized this time, her fur became thin and soft. All injuries that were on her body were gone and she just snuggled into his hand, trembling from either fear or the cold. Dante began to pet Lupa but he was confused at how quiet she was, normally she’d be running around talking but she yawned sleepily and yapped like a proper puppy.

Naomi frowned and took Dante’s free hand. “Lupa hasn’t said anything since you woke up, then she turned tiny… I’m not sure what’s wrong with her but I can’t sense her magic anymore.”

Dante’s eyes stung. “W-what?” he croaked.

Naomi backpedalled, gripping his hand tight. “No, no, I don’t think she’s dead. Lupa never possessed a vessel, if she were dead… well that puppy wouldn’t be here. I think her magic was weakened so much that it was close to zero so she retreated in that form until she can heal, like a defense mechanism.”

Dante took a shaky breath. The idea that Lupa was, well, dead absolutely terrified him. When he was young, he might’ve been fine with her dying as their relationship was more vitriolic if anything but nowadays… Anyways he couldn’t think of her dying, Dante watched gods die before, when their immortality gives up because they can’t handle it anymore.

Lupa couldn’t die, he wouldn’t allow it. As silly as she was, Lupa was Dante’s mama wolf.

Naomi wiped her eyes. “Abaddon left, I’m not sure why but she looked, well, scared.”

Dante sat up, Naomi tried to keep him on his back but he refused. He cradled Lupa in his lap, trying hard not to cry. “What the hell can scare something like that?”

“I’m not sure, an angel… or a squad of angels?” Naomi suggested. “Or an archangel?”

Dante frowned. “Raphael? I know him, he’s a bit of a dick.”

Naomi shook her head. “I don’t think so. But… well, I don’t know, I would’ve sensed an archangel and…”

Naomi tried to connect to her angel radio but the effort made her start to smoke. Literally, smoke began to rise from her body as if she were burning. She shook her head and groaned. “I can’t sense anyone now…”

Dante took her hand. “It’s fine, you’ll heal. Thank you for saving me.”

Naomi smiled and waved her hand dismissively. “You would’ve done the same.”

“Take the compliment, featherbrain.”

“Thanks.”

Dante was about to try to stand up when he heard the sound of an ambulance. Looking over at the street, there was a large white ambulance racing its way toward them. It wasn’t a normal ambulance either, it had the words SECTION III on the side of it.

How could they have found them?

“You guys okay?”

Dante and Naomi jumped slightly as a woman appeared right next to them, completely opposite of the ambulance. Dante wasn’t wary about this girl, however, she wore a baggy Section III uniform with a nametag pinned on her chest. Dante had to squint to read the nametag.

“'Danny?’” he asked.

Danny looked down at her nametag and blushed. “Y-yeah, Danny, that’s me! It’s spelled with an I but, um, they forgot to change it. Danny at your service!”

Dante raised an eyebrow. This girl was a bit weird. She had short curly blonde hair that were dyed black at the ends, she was definitely pretty with her surprisingly red eyes and beautiful smile. But the uniform was too big on her and hung over her figure awkwardly.

Before Naomi or Dante could ask any questions, Danny pulled out a small pen and pointed it at Dante. He thought she was going to write on him, but she held the pen a few inches away from his chest and it buzzed loudly. Medical scanner, perhaps?

“Ooh, nasty,” she hissed. “Daemonic magic, pretty old magic, goes all the way back to the Behemoth now he was a nasty customer. Thankfully, I managed to seal him up.”

“Wait, what—“

“Your goddess isn’t in good shape either,” she continued, frowning at Lupa. “Here take this!”

Dante wasn’t able to protest when Danny popped what looked like a lozenge into his mouth. He was about to spit it out but it tasted… well it didn’t taste like a mint. It tasted like… it tasted like Annabelle’s favorite soup. It was so nostalgic that Dante nearly cried from the memory, even the image of his lovely wife Annabelle appeared in his mind.

His body became stronger and he felt his wounds healing up, breathing became easier and he didn’t feel like he was going to die.

“Ah, good,” Danny said with a grin before popping the same lozenge into Lupa’s mouth and into Naomi’s.

Naomi recoiled slightly at the taste and stared at Danny with a bewildered expression. “Is this Greek ambrosia?”

“It’ll make you feel better,” Danny promised. “Now then, Lupa will become restored eventually but take it easy. Doctor’s orders.”

Danny was rising to leave but Dante took her hand, giving her a hard glare. “Wait, who are you? Why do you have the food of the gods and how did you know Lupa?”

Danny grinned and winked. “I’m just a traveler. Dad forbade me from going into this time period but I realized I had to. If I didn’t help you guys then… Point is, I’m a good guy but I can’t stay.”

“You will stay,” Naomi ordered, pulling out her sword. “You may have healed us, but you are clearly a time traveler. If you can aide us—“

“Sorry, Naomi. I can’t. Good luck guys, I’m rooting for you!”

Danny blew a kiss and disappeared. Naomi muttered a curse in Enochian and Dante sighed, he was feeling a hell of a lot better but ambrosia was dangerous to mortals. So why could he eat it and survive?

“Well, she was…”

“Insufferable!” Naomi finished. “Arrogant these time travelers, especially her.”

Dante crinkled his nose. “Wait, you know her? But you just met…”

Naomi blushed and looked away. “No, she’s just met me. I met her future self before and… Well, let’s just say it wasn’t a good experience. We can’t expect her help, she’s stubborn like that.”

Dante wanted to ask how she knew Danny, but Naomi clammed up. It was probably the first time he saw an angel blush like that.

Finally, the ambulance neared and a dozen Section III agents poured out, guns drawn but once they noticed Dante they stiffened and saluted. “Sir!”

“Don’t.. salute,” he said with a frown.

One of the soldiers neared taking a large electronic pad and running it over Dante’s body. “Whoa,” he muttered, looking at the readings. “Are your ribs… branded?”

“I’m fine, by the way,” Dante said, getting to his feet.

“Sir, we need you to come in,” the soldier said.

Dante was careful to cradle Lupa sleeping in his arms, Danny promised she would heal but she was still a pup. “No thanks,” Dante said, looking at the soldier’s nametag. “Um. Danny…”

“But sir, we need all the help we can get,” he insisted. “We only just got word from Connor and Henry.”

Dante’s body subconscious stiffened at Connor’s name. He liked Connor and all, but that dude made him nervous, well most Section III agents made him nervous which is why he wasn’t so eager to go with them.

Naomi patted Dante’s shoulder. “You should go, I’ll meet up with Oriel and head to Heaven for Elyse.”

“Not in your condition,” Dante muttered, glancing behind her and noticing her burned wings. “Fine, we’ll go, but you’re coming with Naomi.”

“Um, sir, but—“

“She’s an angel and so far she’s one of the angels who don’t want to kill me, therefore she’s a good guy in my book,” Dante argued. “So, she’s coming whether you like it or not.”

Danny shuffled uncomfortably before handing her his pad. “Actually, sir, I meant she needed to sign her name on her and register into the system. We don’t have any information on her.”

Naomi signed her name but not with his stylis with her finger. Her name was written in glittering golden letters in Enochian. “If you’re lucky, you won’t have any information on me, period.”

Aiden

Aiden held Lucy in his arms. Not sure about what had just happened but by how his jaw set he probably didn’t have a lot of good thoughts on that guy.

“He was taken,” he muttered. “A perfect kidnapping…”

Lucy wanted to ask what he meant by that, but Aiden suddenly put her on his shoulders and turned away from Doa. He didn’t answer any of her skepticism because honestly he really didn’t want to. Sure he had his own qualms about Lucy, but she was a kid, what kind of kid could be that dangerous?

There’s probably a logical reason behind her nonchalant of all this, she was friggin’ traumatized. Seeing demons tear people apart, including her sister, must’ve been a horrible experience for her. Aiden knew two of the best actresses in the world, his lovely girlfriend Rika and his adoptive little sister Octavia. He wasn’t a lie-detector like they were but he knew enough to know that Lucy’s sadness from earlier was legitimate.

There was definitely sadness in her eyes that made Aiden want to instinctively protect her. He wasn’t exactly happy that Doa was questioning that either. He liked and respected the alien enough but given her treatment of Octavia when she landed in this world he wasn’t exactly her biggest fan. I MEAN WHO COULD BE, YOU KNOW? GIVEN SHE’S OBSESSIVE FOR THE WRONG REASONS.

Sorry, anyways.

Aiden gripped Lucy’s ankles and told her, “Stay still and don’t talk, you’ll bite your tongue off.”

“Wait, what—“

Aiden sped off with Doa.

He reached the grove faster than Doa and when he saw Mayuka it was like a great burden was lifted from his shoulders. Well, that probably had something to do with Lucy getting off his shoulders and standing behind Aiden’s leg awkwardly.

Aiden looked over his shoulder as Doa walked over, stealing Mayuka from Connor. Lucy looked, well, scared for some reason. She gripped his pants and hide behind him like Mayuka made her nervous somehow.

“You alright?” he asked.

Lucy didn’t answer, only staring at Mayuka as if… Aiden wasn’t sure what to call it but it looked like she had a wistful expression.

“Yeah, I just…” Lucy cleared her throat and removed her headphones. “W-who is she again?”

“My sis, Mayuka,” Aiden answered. “Apparently, some demons took her and—“

“She looks hurt,” Lucy interrupted.

Aiden looked again and noticed how pale her skin was and how weak her eyes were. He wanted to race over there but Lucy didn’t want to move. “Yeah, well, they’re demons. So…”

Lucy’s expression turned into anger. “But she… Never mind.”

“Right…” Aiden took Lucy’s hand and walked up to Mayuka. “Well come on, she won’t bite, I think…”

Doa was carrying Mayuka which made Aiden slump his shoulders. He wanted to hug her like crazy, it felt like he hadn’t seen his little sister in ages. But instead, he walked up and kissed her forehead. Aiden nearly recoiled, her skin was so cold it almost burned his lips.

“You alright, Yuka?” he asked pathetically, she didn’t look alright. Glancing at Connor, he nodded at the archer in quiet thanks. But then awkwardly looked at Lucy.

“She’s Lucy,” he told Connor. “She’s alright.”

He was expecting Lucy to look at Connor and say something witty but she just stared at Mayuka almost in disbelief.

Aiden knelt slightly to Lucy’s eye-level. “Did you want to say hi?”

Lucy jumped like someone shocked her. “N-no, I mean, she’s probably not feeling well, I don’t wanna bother her. Besides, ET over here probably won’t let me anywhere near her…”

Aiden didn’t say anything but just nodded and looked at Connor, keeping Mayuka close a proximity as if afraid she would be taken again.

“What’s the situation in Section III?”

Hell

Abaddon strolled into the Castle with a slightly pissed off expression. The lesser demons that were unfortunate enough to be in front of her were banished immediately, their essence being scattered to the deepest pits of Hell to regenerate slowly and painfully for centuries.

One little exorcist shouldn’t bother her but his smug grin made her want to tear him into ribbons. She made her way into the dining room. A ridiculous room filled with a grand table that could seat two dozen demons, it was made of the finest nether-rack with food that magically morphed into horrible eldritch monsters writhing and convulsing.

Angrily, she slammed her fist into the wall, causing the entire castle to shake slightly. “Damned exorcist. Who does he think he is… ARGH!”

She punched the wall again, this time bringing down the skeletal chandlier on the table, making it crash beautifully.

“I’ll get him…” Abaddon tried to sense where John was on the surface world but… nothing. Static came up when she thought of him. “Great, he’s warded himself.”

“Who?” Abaddon turned around and saw a demon she hadn’t seen in ages in front of her. Ultrich, the giant red furred demon Lord, grumbled and frowned. He was a lot smaller than she remembered, only 8 feet this time around. Ah, it must’ve taken him decades to reform into this form after his last death.

“I thought you were banished forever!” Abaddon said with a grin.

Ultrich rolled his shoulders as if he still wasn’t used to a physical form yet. “Who has warded himself, Abaddon?”

Abaddon crossed her arms, still smiling casually. “An exorcist, dark haired, tie and shirt, know him?”

Ultrich’s face turned purple with rage. “He is the exorcist who killed me so many years ago! I will tear him to shreds!”

“Right, right…” Abaddon muttered, walking up to the demon. “But how are you gonna do that after I kill you?”

Ultrich’s eyes widened but he wasn’t fast enough to dodge. Abaddon stuck her hand into his chest, causing the giant to cough up blood. Abaddon grinned monstrously, her eyes glowing like hellfire. “Show me what you know…”

Smoke appeared from Ultrich’s mouth and went into Abaddon’s, in an instant all of his memories were available to her. She saw a young John Winters tricking Ultrich into a devil’s trap and forcing him to fight another demon he had trapped there until they were nothing but husks of meat. John then finished them off with a basic spell.

“Ah,” she chuckled. “John Winters, hm? I’ve got his number now..”

Abaddon twisted her hand and Ultrich convulsed and crumbled into dust and disappearing.

“Now then… What’s for dinner?”