Disclaimer: I do not own D. Gray -Man.
Prologue
Rain fell from the sky, soaking anyone unfortunate enough to be outside at the time. Footsteps were pounding at the ground, stepping through puddles and mud as they ran further into a dense forest. The sun was imprisoned by the dark clouds, barely able to shine even a shed of light onto the land. A startled and confused golden golem flew as fast as its wings could carry him, trying to edge his companion to run faster. Without turning back, the two both knew that the world was now losing itself to the bitterness of shadows and sorrow.
A white-haired boy continued on, gripping tightly onto his left arm which was torn open at his shoulder, bleeding profusely onto the ground where he stepped. Allen had no choice but to keep going. His friends made it clear that he was of no use in the battlefield, and if they were to lose, everything they were fighting to protect would be lost. He didn't take his eyes off of Timcanpy. The dark forest just seemed like a never-ending tunnel, Tim being the only light to guide the way.
Not far off in the distance where he was running from, was a large grassy clearing covered with blood from his companions. A young, Japanese exorcist that had a striking resemblance to a samurai swung his sword, activating third illusion: Sangenshiki. The machine standing before him known as Akuma, seemed amused, smirking as it edged closer to him. "You're really using up your own life to slay me? Exorcist?" it grinned.
Its eyes glowed red and it raised his right arm, powering up a giant ball of energy, getting ready to release its terrifying power.
"Look out!" a spiky red-haired boy called out, running in front to take the hit. Lavi raised his giant hammer to block, but it soon shattered, the force throwing him back into a tree, his body completely paralysing on impact. He felt each muscle go numb, yet the nerves allowed him to still feel pain.
"Baka!" Kanda yelled out in both rage and angst. He faced the Akuma and activated Nigentou, his sword now covering with a glow of energy, wrapping around him and creating a second blade on his sheath. Sparing no time, he unleashed Hakka Tourou, sending out his eight slashes in quick succession. The Akuma had no choice but to back off to avoid the attack. Instead of using this as an opening, Kanda ran towards Lavi, catching him just before he hit the ground face-first.
"Why the hell did you do such a stupid thing like that?" Kanda yelled.
"Heh… you're so clueless… Yuu" Lavi winced, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth. "You're my friend…"
"Tch! Bookmen aren't suppose to have friends!"
"…I guess I've still got a long way to go then."
Kanda's eyes narrowed and became filled with nothing but pure hatred towards the Akuma. He carefully laid Lavi down on his back and stood a few feet in front of him.
"Did I hit a nerve?" the Akuma grinned.
"I don't care if you are a level five Akuma… only one of us will be leaving this battle alive."
"Fuu? That's fine with me… Exorcista!" A smirk smeared across its face, reaching from ear to ear as large white feathered wings grew out of its back.
The Level 5 Akuma looked similar to its previous form, having the appearance of a child, though is shown to be a lot taller and its stomach is no longer bloated. The black star remained on the Akuma's stomach, but now had a much larger halo around its head with its wings stretching out, twice as long as its body - appearing like angel wings. Its head is now filled with a flock of white hair with the ends forming sharp blades reaching down to its waist. The Earl once hinted that the Level 4 was a stepping stone to something even more terrifying. Little did they know it would lead to this.
Despite its immense strength, the Level 5 is still bound to the Earl, however, unlike the Level 4, it no longer has to obey the other Noah members and has the will to choose if it wants to continue killing humans as their prey. Unfortunately, the Earl found a way to compensate for this fault by returning a single emotion that was once taken – pleasure. Not just any pleasure. The pleasure of killing. One kill is not enough to fill its desire; it must continue to kill, whether it be Human, Akuma, Exorcist or even an attempt to kill a Noah, it must kill or else it will tear itself apart.
"Once I've finished with you… I'll finally be able to taste my first Noah! The Fourteenth!"
The Akuma spread out its wings and flew to the sky. A white flash beamed across the land and everything fell silent.
Allen stopped in his tracks, turning around and watching in horror as everything behind him, trees, rocks, flowers – everything – vanished.
"No…" a tear came to his eye as he watched the light fade and the landscape look like a barren wasteland. "Kanda… Lavi…" he whispered. "Why? You didn't have to die… not for me. So why…"
Allen fell to his knees, no longer caring about running anymore. Tim flew down and desperately tugged on his shirt, but Allen just flicked him away, hanging his head down and letting the tears run. "WHY DID YOU DIE FOR ME?" he screamed.
For a while, silence filled the forest. The smell of salty tears and the tense atmosphere of sadness and despair were the only aspects one could feel.
A sudden gust of wind blew past Allen's face and a soft, familiar voice called out to him.
"Allen…" a woman's voice called out. Allen shot his head up, turning around and looking straight at Lenalee. Her uniform was torn and her legs were dripping with blood. Lots of blood. Cuts and scars were everywhere, her skin was even more pale than normal and Allen could already tell that she probably felt cold.
"Lenalee!" Allen exclaimed. He rose to his feet and ran towards her, ignoring the pain and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "Please… Lenalee… run. Don't stay here… just run!"
"No…" she whispered, hugging him back. "I'm staying."
Allen kept her close for a moment before pulling away. His face was swollen and his eyes were red from the tears that recently poured down his face. "No. You can't die… not for me…"
"…Allen"
"Lenalee!" he yelled. "Kanda and Lavi. They're dead. I won't let you die too—"
Before Allen could finish his sentence, a sudden rush of pain filled his entire body. Blood sprayed out of his chest all over Lenalee, her face turning to horror. Allen looked down and saw a sharp blade rammed through his chest from behind. What felt like slow motion, the blade twisted around inside him, every nerve in his body feeling the pain.
"…Allen…" Lenalee managed to whisper, though the shock of what she saw took nearly all her breath away.
The blade suddenly pulled itself out of him, causing Allen to fall to his knees, eventually collapsing to his side.
Is this what… dying feels like? He thought. Will I never… see my friends again?
The Akuma finally revealed itself from the shadows. "Was I interrupting something?" it said with a smug smile on its face. Its hair came to his mouth as he licked the blood off its tips. "The blood of Noah… I can taste it…"
"No!" Lenalee yelled. "Allen is not a Noah! He's an Exorcist!"
"Hmm? I thought I killed you already…"
"You… killed all my friends. You've killed… thousands of people, just for the pleasure of it. I…" a strong wind started swarming around Lenalee and her blood that was dripping from her legs gathered, reforming her crystallized boots. "I will not… let you live!"
It took Lenalee less than a second to jump and appear right before the Akuma's eyes. She swung back her leg and kicked the Akuma in the gut with full force. Before it even had time to breathe, Lenalee appeared behind it as it was being thrown through the trees. Once again, Lenalee pulled back her leg and kicked with all her might managing to damage and immobilize the Akuma's left arm that it was using to block.
"Shit!" the Akuma yelled, realizing that this Exorcist had been given so much strength after seeing the loss of her comrades. "You'll pay for your insolence!"
Flapping its wings, the Akuma took to the sky, getting lost amongst the dark clouds. Lenalee narrowed her eyes and jumped, flying into the sky close to the speed of light, however, she stopped before she reached the clouds. She felt a strong power swerve around her, and it didn't belong to her boots. The beginning of a white flash filled the sky and Lenalee quickly turned to make her escape… but for her, it was too late.
Preview:
"I'm sorry miss, I… I don't quite remember your name."