Light filtered through the stained glass that lined the sides of the room, casting it's multi colored glow in ever direction. The room had a very calm atmosphere, the cream color of the walls had a warm and soothing effect on the single occupant of the room. A lone angel sat at a large wooden semi circle shaped table, his golden armor glistened in the light. Though his appearance seemed calm, anxiety was beginning to weigh heavily upon him, a monumental decision lay before him, the mortal plane inhabited by humans that have yet to enter Hell or Heaven, had become tainted, Demons, Devils, Fallen Angels and a corrupt church were just a few of the many problems that had weakened what little influence Heaven held on the realm. Was it time to intervene? Was it time to start taking back the realm they once held? He realized that any forceful action would break the treaty that had been signed many years ago to put an end to the Great War, a war that cost Heaven its leader and many good angels, if he were to somehow break the treaty he would have the two other factions quickly turn on him and Heaven would be doomed.
One of the large wooden doors at the entrance of the room slowly opened." Michael, he's here. " A female voice at the front of the room said. The archangel lightly shook his head to regain his focus.
With a smile he replied. "Thank you, please send him in." The woman nodded and left the room, the large wooden door she entered through swiftly closed.
"This must be done Michael, the true God would never have let the world fall into such darkness in the first place, you must right the wrong…be the light that casts away the darkness." He thought to himself as he waited for the next guest to enter.
The door to the room slowly opened, a figure made its way through the doorway into the light, it was a man, he had jet black hair and golden eyes, he had an athletic build similar to that of Michael, his set of angelic wings were folded inward behind his back, he had a slight smile on his face.
" Ezekiel. " Michael said with a smile as he rose from his spot at the table to meet his fellow angel, they shook hands and greeted one another.
" You must be wondering why I have asked you to come see me. " Michael said as he turned and made his way to one of the windows that gave a view of the expanse of Heaven.
" Yes, actually I was, did something happen? " Ezekiel asked with a rather serious look on his face.
Michael released a sigh and continued looking out the window. " Ezekiel, I need to be honest with you, Heaven is weak, incredibly weak, and we are losing what little influence we have in the world of humans, if things continue as they are, what little say we have in their world with be gone."
Ezekiel could only roll his eyes. " Humans, it's always about the humans with you, why do you care so deeply for them? Can't they make their own decisions? They're beings just as you and I, they can make their own choices just as you and I do." Ezekiel argued, his distaste for mankind was obvious in his tone.
"They're one of God's creations, they must be cared for just as anything else, God gave them the blessing of freedom, the same freedom me and you share. The problem is that they are being led astray, the church that is supposed to be spreading God's wisdom has been corrupted, all they care for is money and power, at the expense of their followers eternal life. Rouge priests spread their own perverted versions of the Lord's word, one has even claimed himself as the reincarnation of God himself. Listen, I know you have little regard for their existence but I must ask you to carry a heavy burden." The gravity of the situation could be felt through the tone of Michael's voice, silence settled in the room, Michael trying to find the words to explain what must be done, and Ezekiel thinking of the possible requests that Michael will ask of him.
Michael turned from the window and faced Ezekiel, his jade green eyes focused on his fellow angel. " The task I'm about to ask of you is a monumental one, but please, as ridiculous as it may sound, promise me you'll hear me out, I will not force you to take it upon yourself, though, you would be my preferred choice. "
After a few moments of thought Ezekiel nodded. "What is it you ask of me Archangel."
" I need you to be their savior. You'd lead a team of specially chosen team against the church and all other beings tainting the their world." Michael plainly said, his voice made Ezekiel realize this is no joke.
Ezekiel took a step back, completely dumbfounded from the request he just heard. "S-Savior, that isn't possible, you're the new God, I'm no savior I'm an angel, that's all I am, that's all I'll ever be. And besides, why in the world would I want to work with lowly beings such as the humans, they have nothing to offer me. And what of the treaty? If we break any of the rules we will have another war on our hands."
A faint smile appeared on Michael's face. "I see now the reasoning behind Gabriel choosing you for this, you are much too quick to toss aside help, even if its from humans, hopefully this will be a learning experience for you. And as far as the treaty goes, it never said anything about trying to purify the church, that would be your top priority…for now."
Ezekiel's face turned a shade of red. " G-Gabriel, s-she chose me for this? How can I refuse now "
Michael nodded. " Indeed, it was her idea for you to be the angel for this, she seems to have quite a bit of faith in you Ezekiel. So what do you say? Shall I tell her you accepted the mission?" As he finished speaking Michael put out his hand for a handshake.
Ezekiel took a deep breath. " Tell her…tell her I accept. " He shook Michael's hand as he finished speaking, suddenly he felt a burning sensation on his hand causing him to wince. He quickly withdrew his hand and looked at the palm, there was a red cross burnt into his hand.
" What is the meaning of this!?" Ezekiel demanded as he nurtured his hand.
Another smile appeared on Michael's face. " That is what we call The Mark of The Templar, in time Ezekiel, you will learn the true power I have bestowed upon you. Now to attend to business, I've planned a preliminary mission for you, just to get you back in the swing of things, I mean you haven't fought since the Great War. "
Ezekiel crossed his arms. " Preliminary mission? Its not like I need it or anything, but I'll play along. What do you have in mind? "
" I'm sure you don't need it, but I'd rather be safe than sorry with something this important. You remember the rouge priest claiming to be God, well, he needs to be silenced. " As he finished his sentence Michael's usual joyful look changed into something much darker and serious.
" Silence him? You mean kill him? I can do that. When will I be leaving? "Ezekiel asked with a smile.
" Now. " Michael said with one of his smiles.
Ezekiel's eyes grew huge. " WAIT WHAT!?" Light began to shimmer around him followed by a blinding flash. Once his eyes recovered he found himself standing in a grassy plain, a gentle breeze sent waves of green as far as the eye could see. When he looked up to the sky he was met by the vast expanse of space littered with stars.
He looked around try to get a bearing of where he was. " I'm definitely not in Heaven anymore." Off in the distance he spotted a white chapel, even in the dark of night the white paint of the building stood out, it stood on top of a hill overlooking a small village, smoke made its way out of the many chimneys of the houses. " I think that's my target." He took a deep breath and began running, he pushed off his right foot and launched himself into the air, after a split second he came crashing back down to the ground with a thud. "My wings! " He shouted in horror as he awkwardly felt around on his back.
A voice popped into his head. " Oops, sorry kinda forgot to mention, I had to mask your true appearance, you currently have the appearance of a 17 year old human."
" Michael! " Ezekiel roared as he shouted at the sky above him.
After much grumbling and walking he finally managed to reach the large wooden doors to the interior of the chapel. When he pushed the doors open he was met with a truly disturbing sight, there was very little light inside the chapel, the only light was provided by rows upon rows of candles, the walls were lined with upside down crosses, the main isle was between empty rows of wooden pews., which lead to some sort of shrine.
" We've been expecting you." A raspy voice said from the darkness in the building.
Ezekiel had to squint his eyes, after a moment or two as he made out a black mass kneeling before the shrine. "This must be the priest I was sent to remove. Priest, you have been found guilty of blasphemy! I've been sent to take your tainted soul to the court of Heaven for judgment!" Ezekiel announced as he stepped inside the chapel.
The priest only let out a slight chuckle. "Aren't humans funny, they're nothing more than sheep, willing to follow anyone in a seat of authority, they blindly follow to their own demise."
Ezekiel winced as he felt the painful burning sensation on his hand again, he glanced down at his hand, to his amazement the cross on his hand was glowing red.
"Hmmm, you're not some run of the mill angel are you? No, there is something different about you. Raw power, you're much different than the others they sent to silence me." The priest kept kneeling before the shrine not even turning to look at Ezekiel.
With every moment that passed the pain in his hand began to increase, Ezekiel was on the verge of tears as he dropped to his knees gripping his hand, the cross had only grown brighter. "What curse did Michael give me! "
The priest slowly rose from his position, he turned and faced Ezekiel. " You're no angel…the power…the raw power…it can only mean…you must be a Templar! What an honor, a chance to kill a Templar, I thought your order died in the great war, the supposed great warriors of God. " As the priest finished his sentence his skin began to bubble, small parts of his skin began to peel off, revealing a soulless black being underneath. The only real features Ezekiel could make out were two soulless white eyes and a devilish grin from ear to ear.
" You see Templar, I've been the object of these human's worship, they pray to me, they bless me, and with every prayer and blessing I grow stronger. " As the creature explained he began to grow, Ezekiel could only watch in horror as the creature's head soon broke through the roof of the chapel. He staggered to his feet and began running for the doors, large pieces of the chapel were falling crushing the pews on either side of him, once within range he dove out the doors just as the roof fully collapsed. He struggled to his feet, the pain in his hand was becoming crippling, to the point where he was almost hoping for this monster to kill him. Before Ezekiel could react a massive hand had him in its grasp, the monster pulled him close to its face.
" For being a Templar you put up much less of a fight than I imagined, even the angels before you gave me more of a challenge, maybe the Templars skill in battle is just a myth. " Just as the monster finished speaking, there was a bright flash followed by a loud crack almost as if lighting had struck something, the monster howled in pain. Ezekiel fell to the ground still in the grasp of the creature's severed hand. Once the hand landed on the ground he managed to free himself from the its grasp, he stumbled to the floor, the pain in his hand had vanished, the red glow coming from the cross had changed into white, as he struggled to his feet not only his hand was glowing white but it seemed as almost his whole body had a white aura around it.
" Hurry! Place your hand on the ground to create the circle!" A voice boomed in his head, he could tell it belonged to Michael.
Without hesitation he did as he was instructed, he slammed his hand on the ground, instantly a glowing white circle with various shaped icons formed around him. Ezekiel looked at the ground in amazement, suddenly a pillar of light shot up from the circle engulfing him. He was pulled off his feet and hovered a foot or two off the ground, articles of armor began to appear around him, they slowly made their way to the parts of his body they belonged molding themselves to the exact model of his body. A chest plate with a red cross painted onto the armor, a knights shield, the front was all white with a large red cross in the middle, perfectly designed gloves, boots and leggings all made of the same material. The whole event ended as quickly as it started, the pillar vanished, the circle disappeared, Ezekiel found himself back in the place he was before, a monster holding a stump he now had in place of his hand howling in pain, the collapsed chapel, the grassy plain, everything was as it was before. He felt no different wearing the armor, he didn't feel any heavier or bulky, which spoke to the quality of the material.
The now enraged monster let out a howl and turned his sights on Ezekiel, even with one hand the sheer size and strength of the creature was nothing to mess with and Ezekiel knew this. The monster let out one last roar and began charging at him, Ezekiel began to frantically look to see if he had any weapon, much to his amazement he found a sword sheathed on his hip. He quickly pulled it out with his right hand and readied himself.
" Swing it. " Michael's voice calmly said in his head.
Ezekiel looked at the sword for a moment, he realized he would be slicing through thin air but this would be one of the least crazy things he has done all day. He tightened his grip on the hilt and swung it in the direction of the monster, a wave of white energy left the blade and sliced through the air in the direction of the monster. Once the it hit, the creature was stopped in its tracks, a large white cut was across its chest, black energy began to spew out of the wound. Ezekiel followed up with two more attacks, one to the arm and one more across the chest, as energy began leaving the creature began to shrink until it was about Ezekiel's size. Ezekiel made his was over to what was left of the monster, it seemed the monster had lost all its strength, it was just laying on the grass as it's chest slowly rose and dipped.
The now defeated demon let out a very weak cough. " It seems I made the grave mistake of underestimating you Templar." The monster said in an exhausted voice.
" You shall be judged in the court of Heaven once you leave this world. But tell me, you are obviously no mere human, what are you? " Ezekiel said calmly looking down at the monster.
" I was a god, and this town was my kingdom, and these mortals were my worshipers. That was until you arrived and took it all from me." Ezekiel said nothing.
The demon's face turned grim, his time was coming to an end. " Know this Templar, I may be the one defeated today, but, you are the true victim in this, you are nothing but a pawn playing right into his hands."
Ezekiel didn't understand the demon's cryptic message, he simply watched as the demon's eyes closed, his body turned gray, they was swept away as if it was nothing more than dust.
" Well done Ezekiel, I knew you still had it in you. " Ezekiel recognized Michael's voice from behind, he whirled around to see the archangel stand a few feet away.
Anger rose up in Ezekiel. "You call this preliminary! I almost died! What is all this! This armor! This sword! What is going on! Why was the demon calling me a Templar!?"
Ezekiel grew angrier as he saw Michael's classic smile appear. " One thing at a time Ezekiel, please. First off, yes, this was just preliminary, if you think a lowly demon is troublesome than you must brace yourself for the rest of this journey, you will have to deal with much stronger opponents, which brings me to something I must address after I finish answering the rest of the questions. Second, the armor, it belonged to Richard the Lionheart, it is one of the strongest suits of armor ever created and over time it will you will be able to summon the armor much quicker than you did today. Third, the sword's name is Joyeuse, it was used in countless battles by the great hero Charlemagne, it's a holy sword so please be careful with it. Finally, the reason he called you a Templar was because you bear The Mark of The Templar, I really thought that was rather self explanatory."
The white cross on Ezekiel's hand began blinking, alternating red and white, finally it went back to red, just like the demon, the armor simply was swept off with the wind. "Now Ezekiel, I know asking you this is rather insane, but hear me out. You're going to be an angel in a human's world, contrary to what you might think, they have quite a bit to offer, especially to you in this case. Whether it be, fighting, connections, information and any other thing, they can be the candle that helps provide light in this dark world. As for your team, we've gone ahead and targeted some possible members." Michael pulled out a scroll and handed it to Ezekiel, he looked it over for a moment.
Ezekiel raised an eyebrow. "Kuroka? Where have I heard that name before?"
"Oh the Nekomata? Well she's actually a wanted criminal, a very strong criminal, but a criminal nonetheless. Perhaps if we offer her refuge she'll be willing to aid us in this." Michael explained
Ezekiel let out a sigh. " Criminals. What kind of heavenly team has criminals."
"I believe this is as the humans say. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Now as for your base of operations, there is an abandoned church in Kuoh Town. Feel free to turn that into your HQ. Since y'know this church is kinda...well...destroyed." Michael said as he looked at the crumpled church where the fight took place.
"Now then, I must be off, there are matters I need to attend to in Heaven, best of luck Ezekiel and God's speed." And with that Michael was gone. Ezekiel took a look around, it was something he had nightmares about, he was alone in the world of humans.
Hello! Author here, this is the first chapter of what will hopefully be a long and entertaining story. I used this chapter for just introduction to the story and character, our beloved DxD canon characters will arrive later in the story. Also, are you guys against OC x Canon pairing? It won't be one of those, OC meet Rias, Rias magically falls in love, this will have a legitimate back story to help support whichever pairing. Girls from other shows will be used or we can just go the classic harem route, so if you have anyone in mind let me know, I would love to know where to improve just please don't flame, thanks If you guys want lemons let me know so I can bump up the rating when the time comes. – UMW