He had trained for as long as he could remember to be of use to a great cause if he should be needed. With a singular determination, he had trained and trained, waiting for the day he would be given a role to fulfill. He was ready for it to come at any time.

When his time finally came, the role he was given was Torturer. He was tasked with wielding the fires of Purgatory to burn the sin from those who broke the laws of the world. Days after day, he continued to fulfill his duty, even as the flames licked at him, as well.

His work went on for what seemed like an eternity. Meanwhile, his colleagues seemed to harbor no doubts about their assigned task. Inundated with endless repetition, he tried to find meaning in his work. He had to believe it was necessary, that it absolved the sinners. He had to believe it would deter innocents from making similar mistakes.

But that work, the torture, was unending. No matter how hard he tried, sinners continued to sin. The number of sinners continued to increase. No one seemed to heed the examples he made of his victims. He began to doubt his task, yet even in the face of doubt, he remained strong… In the beginning.

In truth, he simply suppressed them, refusing to come to terms with his reservations. They collected like snow at the bottom of his heart, One day, he, nay, the voice in his heart, released a silent scream that questioned if his actions had any meaning at all. It was then that he heard a voice that responded to his call. It came from far away, transcending time and space to reach him.

In that instant, his body, and all the fire within him, transformed into a sliver of light that disappeared through a shining gate. That was the beginning of his long, long exile. The beginning of his journey through the inferno.

Aoyama Cemetery…

"Huff… Huff… I'm not done yet!" Kengo was breathing heavily as he glared at the stone face of Zabaniyya who didn't look tired at all. Back above the ground, the fated battle taking place in the Aoyama Cemetery was entering its final stages.

"You have fought well. I commend your efforts… from the bottom of my heart." Kengo, though he has taken severe damage from the Sacred Artifact in Zabaniyya's hands, remains standing. Zabaniyya, on the other hand, remains unharmed. Still, Kengo taunts him despite their difference in standing. "Heh… Commend me? I don't need your pity."

"How are you still able to fight?" Zabaniyya's expression grew upset as he looked at the badly injured Kengo who just didn't want to go down no matter how many times he got hit by Zabaniyya Sacred Artifact.

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Kengo managed to get that out through his quick breathing. He looks like he was ready to fall to the ground but he still forces himself to stand up against Zabaniyya.

"You are knocking on death's door… and surrounded by my brethren… Furthermore… you are strong. Strong enough to understand the difference in power between us. And yet the fire in your eyes still burns so brightly. How? How are you able… to keep that fire lit? How can you set your heart towards such an impossible purpose?" Zabaniyya's stoic expression seem to crack for a bit as he asked Kengo this question.

"Oh, now I get it. Now I know why I feel like I could never lose to you." Kengo gave a wide smirk to Zabaniyya as he finally understood something. Zabaniyya raised an eyebrow at this and gave Kengo a curious look. "That is an interesting statement. May I ask you to expound?

"It's simple, really. Basically, you're the type of guy that just whines about the stuff you can't do. I should just accept that beating you is impossible because I'm surrounded and you're stronger than me? You gotta be kidding! That's totally whack! If you ask me, living life like that wouldn't even be worth the effort. The things people tell me are impossible… are the only things I'm interested in." Karate power breathing, a technique that absorbs the qi of the natural world, is the source of the torch in Kengo's eyes. "I won't lose to the likes of you. See, I know my partner believes in me and is gonna come back!"

"...You are a superb martial artist. That, I will acknowledge. However…" Zabaniyya's eyes travel over the sinner before him, whose fiery spirit blazes in opposition. He assumes a fighting stance in preparation for Kengo's upcoming attack. His form flows like a living flame, not a single movement wasted.

"I am a tool, nothing more. That is the path I have chosen. Come!" Zabaniyya lunges at Kengo with a fury of karate chops, almost piercing him with every thrust. Those hands were trained solely to inflict damage upon others, and they provide an enormous challenge for Kengo.

"Guh!" One of Zabaniyya's barrage of chops cut through Kengo's arm, almost as if his hand itself were a sharp blade. Then… "Aaagghh!" Flames shoot from Zabaniyya's fingertips, streaming in through Kengo's wounds to burn him from the inside out. This is the power of Zabaniyya's Sacred Artifact: punishing flames that infiltrate and burn within a sinner's body. No sinner has ever been able to withstand this assault. However…

"Aaaggghhh! Now's my chance!" Kengo endures the burning pain long enough to make his move… Kengo counters an oncoming karate chop with his fist and lands a strike on Zabaniyya. Zabaniyya falls to his knees. The angels surrounding them murmur in concern.

"Heh. You finally left me an opening. Was that the Sacred Artifact you're so proud of? It was, wasn't it?" His entire body still smoldering, Kengo raises his own Sacred Artifact wrapped around his fist. He smiles brazenly.

"Unfortunately for you, I'm no stranger to being burned up from the inside!" He is only bluffing. No human could survive being burned alive from the inside. Even he is surprised he's still standing. For any bystander, that much is obvious. And yet… Kengo refuses to fall.

The angels grow restless. Despite Zabaniyya's attempt to stop them, they rush at Kengo with their weapons drawn. Kengo doesn't flinch. He continues to stare down his attackers, defending the stairway to the underground graveyard at his back. Zabaniyya's expression clouds as he regards the sight. "Why…?"

Together, the angels easily beat Kengo down. He no longer has the strength to resist. The most he can do is dodge a partially vicious, deadly strike. The angels' grin, drunk on the wine of violence.

What is the meaning of justice? What is the true form of evil? Is this heaven, or hell? Doubts turn to flame inside of Zabaniyya. Those flames turn to screams that threaten to escape his mouth, when suddenly… A lion descends upon the battlefield.

"Engrave mine name of Arsalan unto thee. Arise… Anointed Savior!" The emerald in Arsalan's sword gleams a bright green. From it, a jet of oil shoots forth, pushing back the army of angels.

"Lord Arsalan?! Argh!" Any angels who try to move end up slipping and sliding on the slick oil. Some attempt to fly, but the oil weighs down their wings, causing them to fall back to the ground. Others simply slip and fall onto their backs, one after another. The lion's intervention causes a whole different pandemonium from just moments before.

"What the hell?! Hey gramps! You sprayed me with that too! Gah! W-What the…?! I'm slipping!" The splashing oil hits Kengo, and he slips and falls on his face. "Give me a break! First pudding, now oil?!"

"Wahahaha! It's so slick you can't stand, let alone walk! Now that you've all been bathed in consecrated oil, this fight is over! All of you, stand down and lay down your weapons! I am Arsalan and I forbid you to fight any further!" Arsalan's deep voice echoed through the Cemetery and all the angels covered in oil looked up in shock at his appearance.

"It's Lord Arsalan! He was supposed to have gone missing… Why would you defend them, Lord Arsalan?! They are sinners who defy our commandments…" One of the angel Transients spoke up but got quiet once Arsalan shot a glare at them.

"Fools! Look at yourselves, all of you!" The entire Aoyama Cemetery shakes with the force of Arsalan's roar. "Can you take pride in what you've done? Will you tell that to the dead? You call this justice?! Life does not exist because we follow divine law. The laws exist to support our way of life!"

With Masato…

"Kengo! You're safe!" Shiro went to Kengo's side after we came out of the underground graveyard following Arsalan. I could see that Kengo was badly injured and I was surprised he was still awake.

"Heh. You finally made it back. That was faster than I thought, partner." Kengo looked up at me with a tired smirk on his face and raised a fist to me so I could give him a fist pump. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Kengo." I lightly hit his fist with mine with a small smile on my face.

"You're terribly hurt, Kengo… But somehow we managed, all thanks to you!" Ryota was touching Kengo all over with a concerned look on his face and Kengo kept flinching in pain at being touched by Ryota. "Okay, okay! It hurts, so stop touching me!"

"Leave it to me! See, my Sacred Artifact…" Ryota's Sacred Artifact shines brightly and rapidly heals Kengo's wounds. Kengo moved his body as he looked up at Ryota in surprise. "Wow. This is amazing! I didn't know you could do this, Ryota!"

"Never mind that… You were hurt pretty bad! I can't believe Zabaniyya would do that to you…" Ryota was frowning as Kengo got off the ground and dust himself off.

"Nah, he went easy on me." Kengo had a frown on his face as he told Ryota this and Shiro's expression got confused when he heard that. "He… went easy on you? Is that true, Kengo?"

"Yeah. If he was serious, I would've been dead long ago. He didn't let anyone else jump into the duel until the very end. I kinda get the feeling that he was waiting for you. In his own way, he might've been buying time until you brought that old dude back. I guess, in the end, he actually saved me." Kengo rubbed behind his head as he told us this with a frown still on his face and Ryota's expression got sad as he looked over to Zabaniyya.

With Zabaniyya…

Zabaniyya remains motionless, drenched in oil from Arsalan's Sacred Artifact. "Lord Arsalan… You have finally returned. And you, Lady Gabriel. I have humbly awaited the return of you both." Zabaniyya lowered his head toward the both of them and looked serious even with oil covering him. Gabriel had a frown on her face as she didn't look at Zabaniyya.

"Zabaniyya, could a man of your caliber not prevent these angels from attacking?" Arsalan looked down at Zabaniyya with a frown on his face and Zabaniyya just shook his head at him. "No… I could not." Zabaniyya remains motionless. Oil drips from his cheek onto the ground.

"Many were hurt, and many danced in the arms of doubt. I am responsible, and I alone. I beg of you… Punish this fool. I… want to be punished by you, Lord Arsalan." Zabaniyya lowered his head at Arsalan as he asked this of him.

"Phew…" Arsalan merely heaves a heavy sigh and shakes his head. "I know you well, Zabaniyya. You would never allow lawlessness. If you did not restrain yourself, that boy would still be burning with your flames."

"I am but a tool that enforces the law. Your opinion of me is an overestimation." Zabaniyya frowns as his hands tighten into fists, his head still lower to the ground.

"You are such a tactless man, you know that? Sigh… Listen, Zabaniyya. To love is to forgive. I forgive you. All you need to do is repent." Arsalan told this to Zabaniyya with a gentle voice but it didn't seem to make him feel better.

"I am afraid, Lord Arsalan, that it is I who cannot forgive myself. I do not deserve forgiveness from you because I…" Just as Zabaniyya is about to confess, he is interrupted by the sudden descent of black shadows.

"Hold where you are, one and all. You stand before your ruler." Ophion walked in front of the many dragons that appeared from the sky and had a smirk on his face.

"Oh? To what do we owe the pleasure? You are Ophion of the Roppongi Guild, are you not?" Arsalan politely greeted Ophion like he was an old friend even though he knew that he was here to cause problems with his dragons.

"It has been a while, King of Beasts. Well, look at you now… all covered in oil. It seems that you want us to burn you alive. I shall let you choose which of my brethren will breathe the flames that set you alight." As Ophion said this over a hundred dragons surround the cemetery. The angels tremble violently in fear, overwhelmed by their sheer numbers. Some even begin to cry.

"Role of the Torturer! Rule of Hellfire! Engrave mine name off Zabaniyya unto thee! Flare-up!" Zabaniyya reacts right away and flame surrounds him and Arsalan calls out to him with a concerned look in his eyes. "Stop it, Zabaniyya! Aaaargh!"

"Wrath of Longinus!" Hellfire engulfs Zabaniyya's whole body in flames, burning off his oil coating. " Lord Arsalan, I will hold them back. Please… take care of the rest." Zabaniyya rushes toward the dragons, covered in flames.

With Masato…

Arsalan calls out to me and the others as Zabaniyya rushes the enemy. "Run away, young cubs! Now is your chance, while Zabaniyya is holding them back!"

"What are you talking about?! You're telling us to run away while he fights alone?" Kengo didn't look pleased with that and I didn't want to leave either since it seems a bit cruel to leave Zabaniyya all alone as he fights all those dragons.

"Surely he suffers! You want us to just abandon him?!" Ryota was trembling as he cries at Zabaniyya's actions.

"Fools! Would you naive cubs let his resolve go to waste?! In terms of strength, the difference is clear. We are in tatters, riddled with wounds. He alone can fend off the dragons now." As Arsalan said this, I looked over to see how Zabaniyya was doing. Though Zabaniyya amazingly takes out one enemy after the next, the dragons descend on him from all sides, dealing their own damage to him in return.

"He knows what will happen, but he fights on anyway to let us escape! Do not dare undermine his sacrifice!" Arsalan was urging us to leave but I couldn't just leave as I watched Zabaniyya get hurt fighting all by himself.

"I can't accept that! Someone, somewhere, will be sad if he dies! I have to heal him… I have to heal everyone! That's… that's the one thing I can do!" Ryota runs over to Zabaniyya even though I call out to him to stop, he could get hurt!

"Stay back! Those flames can never be extinguished! They are fires of Purgatory that burn sinners for all of eternity! Even if your Chalice can heal any… Oh, no!" Arsalan is struck by a sudden realization. At the same moment, Shiro also appears to come to the same realization.

"An eternal flame that brings pain without cease, and a Chalice that instantly heals any damage… This is it! This is what Nyarlathotep is after! Ryota, don't! It's a…" At what Shiro said I also realized what was going to happen. I run towards Ryota to stop him but he is too far away from me.

Ryota reads the words displayed in the App aloud, defining his Role and Rule. "Role of the Paladin! Rule of Abundance! Engrave mine name of Yakushimaru unto thee! Ultimate Supper!"

"It's a trap! Ryota!" Shiro's voice echoed throughout the Cemetery and Ryota looked back in surprise but it was too late. "What…? Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

"Aaaaarrrrggggh!" The sky splits, and an entity emerges from the tear. The App displays an error message: Cannot process. The entity may be the same size as a human, but it is a being composed of pure power.

"I knew it… It's an Exception! That's what he was after!" Shiro looks up at the Exception that appeared in the sky with a frown on his face.

"Is that the same monster that appeared in the underground Ikebukuro Guild? If that thing wreaks havoc out in the open like this…" Kengo mumbles this as he also looks up at the Exception, waiting for it to move. But the Exception doesn't move. Instead, it screams in pain.

"Raaarrgghh!" As if responding to its cry, an army emerges from the surrounding graves. There are easily over a thousand, outnumbering even the flying dragons of the Roppongi Guild. Their numbers are overwhelming. Out from grave after grave, they crawl…

"Aaaaaaaaaahhhh!" The angel Transients that came out from the graves all let out screams and Ryota was surrounded by some of them. I could see that he was trembling as he tries to back away from them.

"What are these things?! Angels…? No… What are they?! There isn't even a flicker of life in them!" Ryota was crying as he walked away from the undead angel Transient. I tried to go over to him but was blocked by a group of undead angel Transients surrounding me.

'This feels like I am in a zombie movie but with angels… I wonder what type of name it would be? Holy zombies? That would be funny… Wait, focus! I have to fight these angels and then save Ryota. The movie idea will have to wait until later, Masato.' I had to shake my head as I focused on the enemies in front of me.

Author Note - I am done with this chapter! Man, the early chapters of Tokyo Afterschool Summoners are so... peaceful. I am not looking forward to writing for the later chapters, when everything is just sad and shit. I miss the good old days with this game. Well, that is it for me now. I hope this chapter was enjoyable and that you are safe physically and mentally. Bye-bye for now and I hope to see you again (*●⁰ꈊ⁰●)ﾉ