In Ancient times, a demon and a shinigami together, no matter what, was an omen.

An omen of death.

Back then, lots of different demons and monsters were fighting over territory in an uninhabited region. Some of the demons were very skilled and when killed, found a way to come back from the 'World of the Dead' or what most people label as the 'Other Side of the Gate.' The gate that only special demons with authority could pass through.

To be sure that those demons stayed where they were supposed to, some of the Agents of the Demon realm asked the shinigami to help. At first, the shinigami refused as their only job was transporting the lives of humans, not demons. They eventually conceded, but there was as issue.

The shinigami didn't have proper weapons to transport the souls of the demons, so with the help of some of the demons from the Other Side of the Gate, the shinigami were able to develop different types of magic to help them.

But there was a side effect of the shinigamis new weapons. Humans who were affected with the magic from the weapons were able to take on ghost-like forms and roam the earth. The shinigami, with the help of some Exorcist, are working to this day to help the humans that turn into ghosts, back to the other side of the gate.

So, it was reasonable that after the words left Lovino's mouth, Alfred jumped up and ran to stand guard in front of Matthew.

"You're not going to take him!"

"Woah! Calm down." Gilbert said, which surprised Lovino as the man wasn't one to comfort people. "We're not here to take your brother... yet."

Lovino smacked Gilbert across the back of his head.

"Ouch! That hurt." Gilbert pouted.

"It was supposed to," Lovino replied. He then turned his attention back to the brothers. "The idiot is right, we didn't come here for your brother as we've already told you. We came here looking for the killer of those monsters."

Alfred loosened up a bit but didn't completely relax.

"Besides," Gilbert responded nonchalantly. "We probably wouldn't be able to take his soul away."

Lovino elbowed him in the side.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked. He looked concerned but also relieved.
Lovino sighed.

"Look. We didn't come here to talk about exorcisms. We just came here to ask for your help."

"Why do you need my help? I thought you two just came here for directions." Alfred asked, puzzled. He appeared to have relaxed a bit.

Lovino and Gilbert shared a glance.

"What do you mean..." Gilbert began.

"...you don't know?" Lovino finished.

"You two are strange." Gilbert said, grinning. His tail began to sway. "But that's alright as long as you join yours truly. You'll be apart of my awesome arm-"

Lovino elbowed Gilbert harder in his side.

"Ow! Quit doing that." Gilbert said, rubbing his sides.

"Quit saying whatever you want," Lovino shot back.

"Um… guys." Matthew said.

A faint bluish vortex materialized in the corner of the room, growing by the second. Gilbert and Lovino paid the brothers and the vortex no mind.

"But I'm trying to get them to join my awesome team-"

"That's not what we're here for! Stop trying to recruit people to join your stupid group."

"Its not stupid! You're just jealous because you're not a part of it."

"Why would I wanna be part of a group with a vampire and a dog shapeshifter!"

The blue vortex erupted in a shower of sparks. Lovino and Gilbert halted their match and turned to look at the disruption.

Through the shower came a child in blue pants and shirt with a white vest and a blue hat.

"Woah! I guess I ended up in the right place." The kid took out a few pictures and glanced back and forth between Alfred and Matthew and the picture. A few seconds later he stashed the pictures back in his pockets. He then looked back up at the occupants of the room.

"Hi there! My name is Peter. I've come to give you two," He looked at Matthew and Alfred. "a letter from Mister Jerkface."

Peter then smiled wide.

"But did you see the spell I just did? It was great, wasn't it?"

Just as he said that, the sparks from the vortex created a flame that steadily grew bigger and bigger.


Edited 1/8/22