-KAIYO'S P.O.V-
The swirling vortexes of crimson hatred slither through the air of Gehenna as our black sun sets to end the day, plunging everything that I know into darkness and desolation with me at the peak of it. Such a breathtaking view, one that I could happily gaze upon for centuries to come. However, I have a job to do, though what it fully entails has not quite become known to me, creating my reasons for ascending the pitch stone steps that pave the way to the Palace of Malevolence, a collection of towering structures that could alone be enough to even purge Assiah into eternal darkness, never a single shred of light daring to touch the weathered brick that constructs the exterior, as well as each turret. I know that I'm expected to perform great deeds that will assist my father in recovering from the defeat that he suffered against the former King of Gehenna, who has recently been struck down and has left the slot of the demon realm's ruler open. With no hesitation, my father jumped at the opportunity, yet his lust for revenge is still omnipresent until I fulfill his wishes. However, I'm unsure of how to take revenge on a dead man, or demon, so how could he possibly have a plan for me to follow?
As I reach them, the grand doors that mark the entrance to the palace gradually part with a scraping moan of a dying demon, one that's struggling to cling on to the life that's being sapped with each passing second to no avail but the grip of certain death. Just like Gehenna, death is a beautiful thing; it brings so much pain and sorrow, something that demons such as I revel in and appreciate above all else. Once the groans of the doors are through, I proceed forward into the Hallowed Halls, where a single violet carpet plasters the floor in a streak that leads straight to a jagged throne formed from vicious shards of opaque, ebony glass, a rare treasure in this world and one of the most expensive to acquire.
Perched on said throne, sits my father in all of his mightiness, the lavender flames that radiate from his skin twisting about the air around his form in a writhing dance of broken beauty. Cloaked in black, my father mingles with the shadows of his own seat, though his contrasting pale complexion fights away all darkness just to enhance the beauty of the fires that affectionately curl around him, not faltering in highlighting his magenta irises as they gleam with a malicious lust for destruction, which is all that's occurred since he took the throne of Gehenna.
"Approach, my daughter," he calls from the opposite side of the room, my form still lingering in the doorway, as if unsure of whether it's my place to continue on without the approval of my father, who remains sitting high in his throne as he playfully bats away some of the wisps of smoke that are formed from his elegant flames. Still hesitant, I take a step forward, followed by many more until I'm finally at his side, his eyes never breaking from me as they match each step that I take, locked upon me even as I stand to attention in front of him, appreciating his authority with no further actions than the ones that he's permitted.
"You have a request for me, father?" I question, my voice lowered, as if not to anger him, and my head bowed towards the violet carpet, allowing my eyes to pick out the splinters of pitch that race through the material in occasional webs of divine intricacy. However, I soon redirect my gaze when I am able to detect the shuffling of slight movement, my father rising to his feet as he proceeds towards me, his flames all but quelled as he advances with his signature menacing smirk tugging at his lips.
"That I do, my daughter. You know my hatred for Satan, do you not?" He quizzes me on the fact known by anyone who has ever had the fortune to learn about my father, whilst he constantly circles me like a demon about to go in for the kill, that sinister smile only adding to the chilling sensation that's racing through my spinal chord as his words drip with the venom that I'm oh so used to.
"I do, father," I reply, holding my ground and concealing the fear that prickles at my nerves, knowing that, if I let my focus slip for any more than a second, he'll witness my terror towards him and will punish me for being so weak. As he goes to utter yet another question, he lifts a single finger, being his index one with a talon-like nail stretching from its cuticle, and allows it to glide over the skin of my ivory shoulders with an affectionate sweep.
"And you know that he was father to two sons as well, don't you?" Once again, I refuse to allow my expression to slip as that nail trails along my neck, his form gliding in front of me once again as he continues his circular motion around me, the edge getting a little too excited and opening up the smallest of crimson stripes upon my skin. Again, this fact is known to all in Gehenna, that Satan produced two heirs who reside in Assiah, both of them nearing his power with the might that they wield in their majestic blue flames that would put my own lilac ones to shame. Yet, in comparison to my father's, they would be but feeble embers, unable to even leave a burn on him. He's just that powerful.
"Yes, father," I mechanically respond, the rate of my heart beginning to increase with each second due to the welling tension within the room, especially when I feel his fingers halt their movement when they reach the base of my leathery wings, the aspect of my body that's the most vulnerable, as he knows all too well. Why doesn't he carry on? Why stop there?!
"Well, I still deem them as a threat to me. I mean, of course, their power is nothing alone, but when together, they could be... troublesome." The way that my father, who's never backed down from any kind of fight without throwing everything that he has into it, lingers on the word 'troublesome', makes me recognize a tone that I've never heard in his voice before. He's afraid.
"What is it that you wish for me to do?" Though I'm already certain of the response that I'm going to receive, I still feel that it's only customary to request my mission as opposed to just assuming what it is that he longs for me to carry out. With an eerie chuckle slithering into my ears from behind me, his fingers still pressed against the arch of my back, his razor-like nails dangerously close to the base of my wings, he suddenly begins working them into my flesh, pain instantly splintering across the entirety of my back whilst a gasp escapes my lips. "F-father?!" I wail as they bury in more, the nails that may as well be blades sinking deeper and deeper into my form, gradually carving lines of deadly ruby that trail towards my wings.
"You're going to kill them. Both of them. Then, Gehenna will truly be mine and I won't have to worry about Satan's bloodline ever inferring again! But to do that, you're going to need to earn their trust, my dearest child. I plead of you to not hold these actions against me; they're merely to make your mission easier, to grasp at the attention of the satanic twins. They'll take you in, try to heal you, try to take care of you. Let them, then strike when the time is right." Through the blinding rushes of exploding agony that continue to rip through me as he slashes away at my back with everything that he has, I can't possibly blame him for this treatment; he's helping me, just like he stated. If I show myself to the twin sons of Satan in an injured stated, Assiah's influence over them will compel them to bring me back to full health. That'll be the perfect moment to kill them once and for all and finally force Gehenna to be free of any chances of Satan's blood reclaiming our land for themselves.
"I understand, father," is all I'm able to whimper before ebony finally pulsates around the perimeter of my eyes, dulling the pain until I can barely feel the tearing of my flesh, nor the swipes of my blood as they splatter on the surrounding surfaces, my cries also inaudible as each of my individual senses are severed. With my goal set in my head and determination to finally prove my worth to my father ringing through my being, I slip into unconsciousness with a smirk on my face. I'll do you proud, Lord Hades.
-RIN'S P.O.V-
"Give me a break, Yukio; this is hard stuff!" I wail as Yukio slams yet another failed test paper in front of me, making each inch of my body jolt as the sound tears through the once tranquil air. Now, all that it's filled with is Yukio bitching to me about how I'm a crappy Exorcist and that I can't even grasp the basics, despite being an Exwire, as well as part demon. It's not like it's my fault; my brain just can't hold all of that boring bullshit that partners homework and exams; he knows that in the field is where I act best, yet he's reluctant to let me even take on a mission without either him supervising me or having my team present.
"Rin, if you think that herbology is hard, then you might as well give up in being an Exorcist; what's the point anyway? I mean, we already beat Satan, so why are you still trying?" With his statement, my hands, which were already balled into pretty tight fists, merely increase their grip until the pen that I have clasped in my right one shatters, the shards of plastic splintering and tumbling to the ground.
"How do we know that there's no other demon... thing that wants to take over Assiah? Did you ever think about that, Yukio?! I'm not gonna give up because I'm sticking to what I said when the old man died: I'm not going to let anyone else die because of me. If I'm not an Exorcist, how can I stop those around me from getting hurt when it matters the most?" Though I'm yelling at him and giving him the full brunt of my rage, as usual, his facial expression doesn't even shift slightly, that same disappointed scowl still marking his face, as if he's still not gotten over my horribly failed practise paper that he made me do tonight. I wish he'd react in some way, you know, yell back so that I can have a proper argument with him; nothing boils my blood like a good old fight to get the adrenaline going. But knowing my peace-making brother, nothing of the sort is going to happen tonight, so I might as well give up.
"Alright, I get your point. Just quit shouting; you're giving me a headache. Not like this storm helps," Yukio comments calmly whilst his spare hand, the one that's not clutched to his head so that it's enveloped in his messy chestnut hair, motions towards the torrential downpour that's raging on just outside of our window, the occasional streak of ivory lightning lighting up the midnight-blue sky. With a huff, as well as an irritated tch, I turn back towards my desk where a spare pen idly lies on stand-by; Yukio decided that it would be funny to buy me an entire shipping's worth 'cause I apparently break all of mine. And, as much as I hate to admit it, there's no ignoring the fragments of translucent cobalt plastic that are still plastered to my hands, splatters of ink also coating them and spilling into each crease of my palm. Great, just great.
Just as I'm about to reach for the book that I borrowed from Shiemi that tells the reader absolutely anything that you could possibly ever want to cram into your skull about plants and their uses against demons, I hear the frantic pattering of footsteps from just outside of the door, a sound that also grasps Yukio's attention as his head instantly whips in my direction, eyebrows furrowed, like my own, in complete confusion. What the heck is that?!
Rin! Kuro's voice suddenly echoes through my head as my ebony-furred familiar bounds into the room, tiny pants being pushed from his body as his stomach heaves up and down with the effort of getting to us, his fur completely sodden to signal that he must've been outside in that raging storm before he came back to the dorm. But what's gotten him this worked up; he's usually so laid-back and hardly in a hurry, especially if the weather is as terrible as it is in the present moment.
"What is it, Kuro?" I question him during the process of freeing myself from the chair that's held me imprisoned for most of the night, though I instantly fall to my knees to meet the gaze of a panicked Kuro, who's eyes are wide with an element of fear that I didn't even know demons could possess.
Outside! There's a girl and she's hurt. Really hurt! you have to help her, Rin! As Kuro's words sink in, I instantly spring to my feet, in the same instant that Yukio snaps out of his relaxed demeanor, and flee to the window so that I can test whether Kuro's deductions are correct; what in God's name would a girl be doing out in this kind of weather, especially if she's injured?! At first, I can barely see anything due to the sheets of rain that are intent of concealing all view from the area below us, however, when a surge of lightning slices through the veil, I finally see it.
The form of a girl, possibly the same age as Yukio and I, is sprawled out on the ground below our dorm, her body nothing but a mangled mess of wet hair and sodden clothes, both seeming to be shredded and covered in crimson. I can only guess that it is the blood that's pulsing from what seems to be an unbelievably huge gash on her back, stretching out towards her shoulder-blades, where two pits of ruby lie, like she's had something carved out of them. Innately, I know what I have to do, not even bothering with a rain-coat as panic fills each inch of me; whoever she is, she's loosing a lot of blood and might die if I don't do something to save her! I can't let that happen; I refuse to allow her to just perish without doing anything to get help for her.
"Yukio, call Shiemi over; we're going to need Nii!" I bark roughly before finally sprinting down the staircase without any regard for a reply; I'm not going to waste time when there's a girl out there who's possibly bleeding to death. What the hell even happened to her; it looked as if someone had grabbed fistfuls of her flesh and just ripped it from her body, and then threw her out into that storm for her life to gradually and painfully leave her. What kind of vile demon would do such a thing?!
With Kuro hot on my heels, I burst out into the intense weather, instantly suffering the rain as it pelts at every inch of me like bullets being shot repeatedly from a gun at each part of my form, freezing chills splintering into my nerves from contact with my exposed skin, which I refused to waste time on getting covered; I don't care if I get sick! My health isn't important right now; what is, is the well-being of this girl, who I've now bundled up in my arms so that I can carry her to a place where she'll be safe. A place where she can get help. Though her breathing's shallow and her skin is the same shade as ivory, being made paler by the thick ebony colour that coats each strand of hair upon her head, she's alive, and that's all that counts for the moment.
-KAIYO'S P.O.V-
I'm here father... I'm in Assiah. I know that you can't hear me, but nonetheless, I've made it into the world of the humans. Where am I now? Only in the arms of the son of Satan, who has no idea what he's truly doing. Though you may have taken my wings, I will learn to cope and one day earn them back once the twins are slain. The end of Satan's bloodline will come, make no mistake. Enjoy your life whilst you can, Rin Okumura. Yukio Okumura. Because tonight may possibly be your last.