Akira flew over to the college after the Macaimuras had gone to bed that night. His demon senses pinpointed the demon immediately after he had gotten to the campus. They also found some other presence that he recognized even before Azieral stepped out of the shadows.
"We really must stop meeting like this, don't you think Amon?" he stated casually as he walked towards him.
Akira warily stepped back a pace, "What do you want, Azieral?"
"I want nothing but to finish my business here and be off. I have no intentions of fighting you nor of causing trouble to the people here." He shrugged, "I am only waiting on someone."
"Good. I also have no intention of fighting you. I am only here to destroy a demon and then, we can part ways." Akira turned to take off.
"Wait. I believe you might find the coming visitor interesting." Azieral smiled secretively.
Akira folded his wings into his back and crossed his arms, "Alright, I'll wait with you."
They waited for ten minutes, Akira eyeing him warily. Just as he was becoming restless, he saw a shadow dart away out of the corner of his eye. He dropped his arms and took up a fighting stance. He extended his senses as far as they would go, trying to sense what the shadow was. Azieral calmly waited, not even registering the moving shadow.
It darted to a position directly behind Azieral and crouched. Akira could sense that it hesitated, unsure of his allegiance. He returned to his waiting position and carefully moved away from the angel, signaling that he was indifferent to Azieral's fate. Azieral looked at him amusedly.
"You can come out of hiding now, Riist. I already knew you were coming. There's no need to be frightened of my friend here. He won't bite… without good cause, I'm sure." He called over his shoulder, not bothering to look back.
The figure paused a moment longer and slowly stood. Akira could make out that whatever gender the figure was, it was slender and feline. He was puzzled that his demon senses still could not pinpoint what his eyes told him was there. It slowly walked out into the moonlight. Akira caught his breath, he could see now that the creature was female. She was covered in short thick fur, the fur being longer on the more delicate parts of her anatomy. Her waist length mane of hair was dark and her eyes glowed in the dim lighting. What made Akira catch his breath was not her beauty, however, it was the look of pure animal rage that covered her face.
"Azieral, you will pay for what you've done to me." She growled.
"Done to you? I merely helped your transformation along to its completion." He turned and looked at her. "And I must say, that form suits you so well."
She snarled and swiped at him. Akira watched their antics with interest.
Azieral yawned and stepped out of her reach, "This is really getting old." He clapped his hands and called out in a bored voice, "Kairnos come forth; I have a job for you."
Out of the shadows stepped a large demon that resembled a genetic reject from an old horror film. Its oversized head and trailing arms made it look almost comical as they dragged along behind it. It kneeled behind Azieral. "What would you have me do, my lord?"
"Take care of the hybrid and feline. I don't care what you do after you're done." Azieral turned away and walked off.
The demon smiled, "My pleasure…" it purred, turning to Akira and Riist. They took up fighting stances. Kairnos grinned ferally at Akira, "Amon, long time no see. How low the mighty have fallen, overpowered by a lowly human boy." It sneered.
"Cut the crap, Kairnos. You know you were never even powerful enough to catch my interest. What makes you think I won't wipe the dirt with your carcass now?" Akira growled impatiently.
"Maybe I'll have a chance to make you eat your words; now that I have joined a force stronger than Satan and you are merged with that human whelp." It gloated.
Akira gave a toothy grin, "That's what Siren thought too; until I shoved her own claw down her throat."
Kairnos got a stony look on his face, "We'll see, Amon."
Akira transformed fully, "Yes Kairnos, we'll see. Oh, and by the way, Amon is long gone; call me Devilman." He shot towards the demon faster than the eye could see and shoved a fist through the middle of Kairnos' torso.
Kairnos gurgled in surprise at Akira's speed, "You've gotten… pretty fast … for being… merged to… a…. hu…man…" Kairnos commented haltingly as he gave a bloody sigh and slid to the ground.
"Tsk." Akira said contemptuously, wiping his bloody hand on Kairnos' short velvet fur. "Not all demons weaken when they merge with humans." He said to the dead demon.
Riist stood stiffly behind him, her tail lashing furiously behind her. "What are you?" she asked, a little horrified at the casual way he just destroyed a life, however evil the soul might be.
He turned and looked at her, "I am the product of a merge between a pure hearted human and one of the most powerful demons in existence." He stood to his full height and studied her, "What are you?"
Riist sat against a building, "I used to know; now I'm not so sure." She looked at him through feline eyes. "According to all the myths and legends I've ever read or heard, I'm a lycanthrope. Or something like it" she shrugged, "I suppose that's what I am now."
He studied her for a moment, "How did it happen; the transformation, I mean."
Riist closed her eyes, a tear trailed down her face. "It happened after the first time I met Azieral…" she told him everything, from her feelings for the angel to the betrayal she felt as he slaughtered her family. "I didn't even realize what I had done until I woke in the ruin of my house with torn clothes and covered in blood. I was sickened by the carnage that surrounded me; but I was even more appalled by the state I found myself in. I had to get out of there, or else I would have lost what little sanity was left to me." She shivered and hugged herself with the memory of those first few nightmarish days.
Akira bowed his own head at the memory of his own first transformation. "You are lucky; all you killed were demons. During my first transformation, I had gone into a frenzy and killed mercilessly, regardless of whether or not they were demon." He looked at her with sad eyes, "I almost killed my best friend."
Riist looked at him in disbelief, "You almost killed your best friend?!"
"Yes…" he closed his eyes and sighed, shaking out of his dark mood. He looked at her, "Speaking of my best friend, would you like to meet him?"
"Um, sure. I need to get a change of clothes, though." She looked down at her rags. "These have kind of had it."
"Of course. I'll need a change of clothes too, but I won't have to go home for it. I keep a spare outfit at Ryo's." he explained.
"Alright then; we'll run by my place and then on to your friend's."
Akira knocked lightly on the apartment door an hour later, waiting for an answering call. The door opened and Ryo peeked through the crack, and then swung the door open more.
"Who's that with you, Akira?" he asked as he let them in.
"Ryo, this is Riist; Riist, meet my best friend Ryo. He's been with me since the beginning." Akira introduced.
Riist bowed her head slightly, "Pleased to meet you, Ryo."
"Likewise… Akira, why did you bring her here, and how much does she know?" he asked, ignoring Riist and fiddling with something under his trench coat.
"I met her while I was out hunting that demon. She knows Azieral personally, Ryo." He explained hurriedly.
Riist flared her nostrils; she sensed something odd in the room besides Akira. She cocked her head, "Tell me something, Ryo. Have you ever met an angel before?"
He looked over at her in annoyance, "Obviously not. Otherwise, I wouldn't be so interested in Azieral."
"Alright; well, do you keep trophies of the demons you kill?" she persisted.
"No! What makes you believe I would even go out and kill demons in the first place?" he argued.
She gave him a pointed look, "Well let's see; you look like you're about ready to leave, you have a gun under your coat, you know a demon hybrid, and plus, the smell of demon is all over your apartment; and I know it isn't Akira." She said, ticking off each point on a finger.
Ryo looked sharply at her and she looked innocently back at him. He turned back to Akira, "Are you certain she isn't a demon?"
"Yes…" Akira looked apprehensive, "She's a lycanthrope, though."
"… Which explains that annoying little sixth sense of hers." He grumbled under his breath. She perked up slightly. He caught the move out of the corner of his eye and muttered a little under his breath. He turned back to Akira, "What animal is she?" he asked sharply.
"…A cat…" he mumbled uncomfortably.
"A. Cat…"
Akira nodded.
Ryo flopped onto a chair, "Well, that explains a lot." He blew forcefully out his mouth, "Of all the lycanthrope species in the world, why a cat?" he complained, looking imploringly up at the ceiling.
Akira blinked as Riist tried not to laugh, "You mean you've run into a lycanthrope before?"
Ryo looked viciously at him, "Oh, yes. A male lycanthrope feline almost ate my dog. It was only because my father was studying it in the lab at the house that it wasn't killed outright by the neighbors." He explained nastily to Akira.
Riist began to puff out, even though she was in her human form, "You speak of lycanthropes as if they were afflicted with an incurable disease or something."
He looked over at her in amusement, "Oh, but they are afflicted with an incurable disease. That's why there are so few purebreds left, or even ones strong enough to transform."
Riist shivered inconspicuously, reminded of how Azieral spoke to her in almost the exact same tone. The only word lacking in this young human's vocabulary was calling her dear. If he did that, she couldn't be held responsible for her own actions.
"Ryo! You could stand to be a little nicer to her; it isn't her fault she was born a lycanthrope." Akira scolded.
Ryo looked over at him, "You have definitely been hanging around Miki too long; you're starting to sound like her."
Riist stood up, "I don't have to take this kind of shit from some kid barely out of high school. I'm outta here." She looked over at Akira and smiled, "It was nice meeting you, Akira. I hope we meet again under better circumstances. Good bye." She gave Ryo a hard look, turned and walked out, not quite slamming the door behind her.
"Great, there goes our best lead to Azieral." Ryo threw his hands up in the air in irritation. Akira looked at him disbelievingly.
"What has gotten into you, Ryo?! Usually, you're as cool as ice in winter."
Ryo rubbed his temples with a hand, "I don't know; I haven't been sleeping well in the past few days."
Akira sat on the couch, "You want to talk about it?"
Ryo peeked at him from under his bangs, "No, it's not something you should concern yourself with."
Akira looked doubtfully at him, "Okay, if you say so…"
Ryo ran a hand through his light blond hair, "So how did the hunt go?" he asked.
"Fine, I guess; I ran into Azieral again tonight. It seems he was the one controlling that demon at the college."
Ryo smirked at him, "So, he's finally shown his true colors."
Akira nodded, "The demon I killed tonight was saying that Azieral is more powerful than Satan."
"If that's the case, we may have more of a problem on our hands than we originally believed." Ryo mused, rubbing his chin.
Riist threw herself onto her couch, "Stupid boy. He has no idea what he's up against." She growled out. She glanced over at her answering machine, noticing that there was another message waiting to be heard. She sighed, trying to calm herself enough to not destroy her telephone. She lightly tapped the play button.
"Hey Jade, this is Leya again. Guess what? I was able to get a ticket to Japan finally! I'm coming over to help you!
"My plane is leaving in the morning so I should be there in a day or so. I'll call you from the airport as soon as I'm allowed to use my cell. Keep your beeper handy for the next couple of days. See ya when I get there!"
Riist groaned. Great, now her best friend was going to try and get into the thick of things; something she was not even remotely prepared for. It looked like she would have to ask those two boys for help, regardless of how she felt about the blond brat.
"Why me?!" she said imploringly to the ceiling. There was no answer, but she swore that the 'Powers That Be' were laughing at her right about now.
Azieral gazed out over the rooftops of modern Tokyo. The wind whipped his hair around him wildly as he sensed his current plaything's mood swing from rage to dismay. He could almost read her thoughts, he was so in tuned with her psyche. At this moment, she had just been given some news about her friend that she did not appreciate at the moment. He smiled to himself; her thought patterns were so easy to read.
He was not out to listen to her private thoughts, however, that was just a bonus. He had felt that she had sensed something from around the hybrid; something she was not certain of but he was. The demon hybrid was close to his true quarry.
"…Satan…" he whispered on the winds.
He had waited centuries for him to appear; toying with the creatures bound to the Mortal Realm. He enlisted in the talents of the lycanthropes more often than not, for they were easily manipulated and almost as tough as demon hybrids. This one he used now was no different from the ones he had used in the years past. He would reward her soon for finding the one he had sought for so long, as soon as she showed him the way to where he was hiding.
There was only one problem to capturing Satan; he had protected himself, however unintentionally, with the most powerful demon hybrid Azieral had seen in centuries. Perhaps the most powerful demon hybrid ever created. It was not the power of the hybrid that daunted him, however, it was the loyalty that he showed to Satan through his human form's friendship. The 'Devilman' would do anything for him; except kill the girl he was fond of…
Azieral smiled to himself. Yes, the girl was the one weakness in their bond; the link that would snap under the right pressure. Azieral gave a malicious chuckle, "Oh, Satan; you have made it too easy for me to plot your demise." He dove off the rooftop he was standing on and flew off into the night, gathering demons as he passed overhead.