Act 0: Prelude to Armageddon

"Since the dawn of time the armies of Heaven and Hell have waged an endless war. Drawn to their conflict was the Charred Council, an entity bound by ancient laws to preserve order and balance throughout creation. It held that any great power left unchecked threatened the very balance of the universe."

"In time, Heaven and Hell came to honor the Council and it's laws, for none were beyond the swift and terrible justice of the Council's enforcers-a fearsome brotherhood known as the Four Horsemen."

"Amid the turmoil, the first humans emerged. The Council foretold that these weak, but cunning creatures would someday be integral to the Balance. Thus a third kingdom was named-the Kingdom of Man."

"By the order of the Council, a truce to be forged between Heaven and Hell. The great pact was bound by Seven Seals, to be broken at the appointed time-when Man's Kingdom stood ready for the Endwar-a battle that would bring balance and determine the ultimate fate of the three kingdoms…"

"That is not to say, that in the meantime, either kingdom allows their hands to lie idle."

Realm: Earth

New York City, United States

The Third Kingdom of Man.

For such a tiny world in creation, there's no doubt that the Man's Kingdom is rather vast. A biosphere of deep forests and archtree, great crags and fathomless oceans. This world is no Eden, but uncounted centuries have allowed Humanity to convert it to suit their needs. In doing so, they've built metropolitan cities the likes of which stretch out dozens of miles at a time and with buildings that attempt to puncture the sky itself. These cities are littered with cars and trucks of all sizes, an alternative to the old fashioned horse drawn carriages, and one can not forget the uncounted street lights, designed to chase away the shadows that haunt the city during these late night hours.

Still with the light and cars the streets might seem uncharacteristically quiet.

Then again, with how reports of missing people and murders have been adding up these past few nights, one shouldn't be too surprised.

And yet, despite this there are still those willing to brave the night for one reason or another.

He loved how stupid humans could be like that.

Letting his fangs tear through a piece of flesh the demon simply took the allowed moment to eat. Sanguine nectar slides down his throat as he stares at his work. An unlucky couple tonight, not a bad haul if he said so himself. He hummed slightly as he took another bite, though the noise he made came out more as a growl than anything before he looked skyward. Full moon tonight, it certainly set the mood for a late night banquet. Reminds him of the nights when he made old London his hunting grounds.

Still, America isn't that bad.

There were certainly more dumb souls that were willing to wander around during the late night hours, and didn't mean the homeless stuck littering the streets.

Continuing to feast, the demon, Albelix just chuckled slightly as he thought about where in this metropolitan city he should move to next, where would be a good place to find fresh meat to get his hands on. Or perhaps he would just stay here, lurking in the shadows of this man-made park that humans seemed to love coming to this place.

"Nice night out huh?" His thoughts were cut off from the voice that appeared nearby. And the demon steadily turned his attention towards it to find a young human male walking from the road not too far from him. Dressed in coat and cowl, and dragging a weapon - a twinblade along the ground as it grinded against the cement.

Albelix seemed to make a noise as he continued eating for a moment, then he spoke, speaking in a tongue that while rich and guttural like a beast, was without a doubt human.

"Hunter~" The demon mutters before taking another bite as he watches the figures stand a good few feet from him. "I had heard rumors - that your lot was still alive in this day and age, but I didn't believe them." He admitted. "I thought you went extinct like the dinosaurs."

"Please." The Hunter just stared up at the demon. "We may not really move in the light anymore, but we still exist, and we will so long as your lot comes to our world and start causing problems." The demon just laughs as he looks at the human, picked himself up and dropped the leg he had been feasting on.

"Is that so~" The demon releases a chuckle. Albelix wasn't the largest demon, but it was tall by human standards. In fact its appearance was noticeably human; two legs, two arms, but that layer of muscle on its frame was something a bodybuilder could only dream of. There were two massive tusks growing out of his back as well as a tail that dragged along the ground. It wielded some infernal cleaver, the kind that could only be forged in hell. He made this gesture, waving his arm to show the devoured couple that was resting beneath him. "Well then, hunter, what will you do?"

"My job." The Hunter stated as he hoisted his twinblade over his shoulder. "So, let's get this over with. I have homework to finish up."

"As you wish." The Demon was already behind them, ready to swing that cleaver of his down as the hunter adjusted his stance and blocked with his own weapon as the ground buckled under the weight. He responded by snapping his free arm out, ripping his revolver from its holster and pointed at the demon's face before pulling the trigger.

What sounded more like a shotgun on steroids than a hand cannon echoed throughout the park as the demon found himself more annoyed by the flash of a muzzle than getting shot as the hunter stepped back to get some distance. The hunter just kept firing for a moment as his target regained their vision and started walking forward.

"Not getting through…" He muttered as he put his hand cannon away and decided to focus on using his twin blade.. "How dense are those muscles?" He didn't get a response. "Guess it doesn't matter, just gotta hit him harder.

"Then by all means try." The Demon watched the hunter's charge, moving far faster than most humans should have been able to without breaking every bone in their body.

He knew this technique, he'd seen it plenty of times in a past life. The Hunters called it the Art of Quickening, and it was a beloved skill, as they focused more on speed than raw power and the strength of armor to combat a demon.

Still it wasn't anything to be concerned about. Albelix had lived a long time; he remembers the old days and the old battles. Angels were faster.

Albelix raised his arms and brought them down with his full weight behind them, cracking the earth as the the hunter dodged and got some distance again. He rushed up to the hunter and slammed his fist into his stomach and sent him flying.

The Hunter seemed to flip in mid air, skidding back as his boots went grinding against the cement. He was rushed again and responded by doing a full turn before slamming his twinblade against the cleaver as they rebounded off each other. The hunter fired his handcannon, aiming for the demon's face and fired. He took out an eye and spun, ducking low under a cleavers swing before cutting into the demon's ankle as Albelix dropped for a moment. He made to stab forward with his weapon, only to be stopped by what seemed to be an aura of power forming around the demon before exploding outward and punching his back. He couldn't do anything as he watched the ground corrupt the soil beneath the demon, forming some dark growth as they got up, literally reaching into their shot eye and pulled it out, bullet and all.

"Gross."

Albelix just swings an arm as a demon magic leaves his limb, creating a wave of fire that the Hunter dodges by jumping over as they charge him. When they're close they swing their weapon and he blocks with his arm, before he pushes them away and off balance as he makes to grab them. They dodge, using their momentum to spin around and duck under the offered limb before stabbing their weapon into his arm. When it's pulled free they step forward, bringing their weapon around their back and strike his chest.

It's shallow, nothing to grow excited about.

Albelix just claps trying to grab hold of his target only to miss as they roll to the side. They let their weapon scrape the ground as they turn to face him, a small trail of sparks following the act before swinging upward. They jump when he fires another wave of flames-this one parallel to the ground and ends up lighting a tree on fire. The Hunter just brings their weapon down, missed as the demon pushed it to the side and struck with his tail. A hard blow to the stomach sends them back and when they recover he's already on them. Swinging an arm gets met with a block. They roll, scrape his arm with their weapon before making towards his back. Another scratch and they block the next hit makes when he turns to them. They double back and he presses his attack, grabbing the hunter's throat with one of his hands before smashing their heads together. The hunter counters by snapping one of their hands out and grabbing his face and earns a roar in pain. There's a burn on the demon's face now; an improvised branding that he can feel before he tosses the hunter into one of the trees.

The Hunter just grunts as he picks himself up, only to drop again as Albelix feels his face before stomping forward. The hunter takes a moment to steady himself and breathes. In an instant they're gone, even from Albelix's senses and the next he's doubling back as something pieces his belly. Before him the hunter just twists their weapon and snaps one of his hands free, cutting it along the edge of his own weapon as he swipes it forward. The ground cracks as the demon is sent back sliding along the ground and trying to catch themself.

They recover, and find him lunging, red and black magic dancing around their weapon as they do so. Albelix defend with his own dark magic, radiating an aura that protects them before expanding outward into the world; forcing the hunter to brace themselves.

Albelix raises an arm, Infernal Magic erupting from the Hunters feet as a sphere of molten fire. They just roll to the side and return to their feet. Raising their weapon over their head they block his tail as it threatens to smash them into the floor. The Hunter turns, twists the limb to the side as his weapon separates into matching blades. When the tail slams into the floor he stabs it with one blade before throwing the other like a dart. Albelix just raises an arm, letting the blade dig into his skin before the hunter crashes down on the offered limb, smashing both his feet into the blade before pushing it down further into demonic muscle. Albelix just swings his arm, knocks them off before grabbing their throat with their good limb and holds them in the air. The hunter just grabs their arm, tries prying it off as he's lifted further off the ground. Albelix just glares at the hunter before opening his mouth and bringing the hunter closer.

The Hunter bites down on his hand, swiping it to the side so fast and so hard it rends the skin before thrusting the arm forward, letting it disappear into a rip between reality only to resurface as some mammoth demons that latches onto the demons wristband promptly crushes it, the sound of bone and muscle snapping and tearing through the night as he was let go. Landing on his feet he thrust his opposite arm forward and watched it disappear as well, only to once again reappear as that of some monsters. It grabbed the other arm snapping the wrist again as it held the demon steady. It's Albelix's time to struggle as he tries freeing himself and the hunter just grunts, and spreads his arms, ripping the limbs clean from their masters body as he drops to the floor.

Albelix releases a scream that's heard for miles.

When it's over the Hunter grabs his shoulders and drops to his knees, glowing crimson vapors leaving his eyes as crimson spills from his lips. Moment the blood touches the ground it seems to boil, almost like some type of acid was hitting it. "Damn, that always hurts…" After the pain subsides the hunter picks himself up and looks at the demon. Their panting for breath, their feet seemingly glued to the ground as they look up at him and glare.

"This isn't over…" The demon growls.

"I'd beg to differ." The Hunter states as he grabs his twin blades and walks over to the disarmed demon.

"I may not be the first, but I will not be the last." Albelix told him.

"Trust me, I know." The hunter agreed. "But so long as you slip through the Fade to cause trouble, we'll be here. Count on it."

"lat do noav know whaav iuk comaumn." The Hunter froze as he heard the demon's voice switch to something rich and guttural, his tongue lashing around like the violent snap of a whip. Infernal - A demonic perversion of the Angel's Enochian tongue. "Ul avime iuk nadar uuk, agh lat ayh noav preparun." The demon started to chuckle darkly as the hunter twirled his weapons once. "lat're kingdom liwo dijak, Agh lat liwo mat ukcreamaumn." In one swift movement the hunter brings the twin blades down., cutting the demon's head off before watching the blood pool and the head fall off at the neck.

The hunter flicks his blades to wipe them free of blood, reconnects them at the hilt and makes the weapon vanish into the seals on his wrists. He reaches down and lifts the head by one of it's horns and hoists it over his shoulder. He takes one last look at those he failed to save and gives them a regretful look. "I'm sorry." He mutters before walking off.

He leaves the park, but he doesn't go far-not that he'd be able to go far in his choice of attire and a grotesque head over his shoulder. Instead the moment he leaves the park he heads straight for a relatively large van and climbs in the back.

"Welcome back Hunter." A female hunter smiles at her younger brother as she finishes playing a round of. "How'd the Hunt go?"

The young drops the head on the floor and someone twitches in annoyance. "Come on man, at least use one of the containers, you know how hard it is to get demon blood out of the carpet?" An older man grumbles as he looks at his counterparts. One seems uninterested and another seems to just be staring in discomfort at the demon's head. The van's new occupant just chooses to get settled in after resetting the severed head into a container.

"Not really." He mutter as the older man just grumbles something under his breath. The hunters are young. Not to young, but still. At most they're 18, with unruly black hair, caramel skinned and amber hued eyes with an unnatural slit like pupil. Traits all of them share. "So you guys miss me?" Him included, there's five in the van, which in itself is hooked up with a combination of monitors and other assortments of gear. All of them enchanted to work and pick up the supernatural.

"Not really." One tells him. "I had a feeling that you'd be fine."

"You're always fine after all." Another admits. "Besides, this wasn't your first rodeo."

"Well that's true." The Hunter admits as he looks to one that's silent and seems to focus on their decapitated demon. "Hey, you alright?"

"Huh, uh yeah…" The youngest of their little group was maybe 16, and as it stood she dressed herself in the garbs similar to the older hunter, only they were more decorated with vials and pouches.

"How's the stomach; still in knots?"

"Yeah." They muttered. "Sorry, I was supposed to go out with you tonight but…"

"Hey, don't worry about it." The Hunter stated as he watched one of the older men just grumble something as they knocked on the back wall and caught their driver's attention. In an instant they were moving and the hunter just sighed as they leaned back in his spot. "When your stomach's better - when you're ready you'll go out."

"Yeah." The younger Hunter-one still in training muttered as they looked at the group for a moment before turning to the discarded head. "So what's going to happen to the body?"

"I called clean-up the moment he went in." One of the older men muttered as he took a drink of coffee. "They'll be here to pick up the body within the hour."

"Can't have the locals finding a demon body lying around in the park." The other admitted as the Hunter just stretched.

"So what's next for tonight?" The hunter, Noah asked as he picked up some papers and went back to doing what he had been doing earlier that night; homework.

"Five seconds." The one at a computer muttered as they started looking through something and pulled on a pair of giant headphones.

"We have more to do tonight?" The young woman muttered.

"Most likely." One of the older men stated as he sighed. " If there's any more demon's nearby we'll be sent to take care of them. Well us or the others."

"Looks like we're in luck though." The one at the computer stated as he leaned back and pulled the headphones off. "HQ just gave the word, there doesn't seem to be any more activity tonight."

"Good, that means we can all go home." The other woman stated as he looked at the severed head. "Well, as soon as we drop this thing off."

"Let's do a lap around Manhattan and wait a while." The Hunter stated as he wrote down an answer on his math homework. "Just in case someone pops up after we disappear for the night."

"Gotcha."

"You think there's going to be other visitors tonight?" The rookie questioned as her senior hunter frowned at a math problem and erased his answer.

"Yeah, these past few weeks we've been having quite a few Demon's slip through the Fade." Noah grumbled. "Usually it's just one or two sneaking away from the Dark Kingdom thinking they'd get a quick snack-"

"Or just to get laid." The man took a drink of his coffee.

"But lately there's been a lot more slipping through for some reason." The Hunter stated as he wrote another answer on his homework. "It's definitely concerning."

"You think they're planning something?" An older female asked.

"Gotta be." The Hunter muttered. "They wouldn't let their kin just slip through the Fade otherwise - at least not in mass like this." He stated as he wrote another answer. "Besides… that last demon… he said something, something I couldn't get but it worries me either way." He frowned. "Something… something is definitely coming soon."

"You think we're do for a Blight." The one with coffee muttered as he tapped their cup with their fingers.

"A Blight?" The rookie asked as they saw their senior shrug. "What's a Blight?"

"A Blight is when there's a massive infestation of Demonspawn that managed to slip through the Fade and come to Earth and cause havoc." The hunter explained before pausing. "You played those Dragon Age we got you, right?"

"Huh- uh yeah why?" The rookie asked.

"Think that, just no Dragon to corrupt into an Archdemon."

"Oh…" The Rookie paused as she tried piecing that together in her head. "Oh~."

"Last time there was a Blight, maybe an 8th of humanity got wiped." The man stated as he took a drink of his coffee. "We recovered of course, but it did its job, reminded the world that they are there, and we are dangerously outclassed in every shape and form."

"How'd we survive the last Blight then…" The rookie paused. "How did we survive any of the Blights - I mean there were more right?"

"Course there were." The hunter stated as he put his homework away and fished through his backpack. "As for how we survived; members of humanity learned to fight back." He pulled out another piece of homework.

"Demons outclass us in almost every way imaginable." The elder man took a drink of his coffee. "They're faster than us, they're stronger, tougher… In order to fight them; humanity had to get smart. Had to use their cunning and intellect to find ways to beat them." He paused as he stared off into a wall. "Some were taught by traitorous demons that admired our grit, others by the Angels who were sympathetic to our situation. In the end though regardless of the teachers, be they human, demonic or angelic in origin, the results remain the same; humanity learned, they made weapons, started schools and organizations to deal with them."

"And that's how we were born." Noah stated as he started on the next piece of his homework. "The Hunters, the Kingsmen, hell even the Tethered. Our organizations are the ones that were created, and we are the modern incarnations of the protectors of Humanity."

"The Hunters, the Kingsmen… a long time ago, these two organizations were well known throughout the Three Kingdoms- when demons and other beings slipped through the Fade. Small and scattered and effective but divided for whatever reason, they were humanity's defenders - their champions. That was a long time however. As the Blights ended and demons and other beings slowed their advances on the Third Kingdom; their support died down throughout the passing centuries and calmer times, their numbers dwindled, and they were inevitably forgotten."

"All save for a select few; families and individuals that had traced their bloodlines back to guardians of old, along with new blood that had stumbled upon the forgotten truth of the Kingdom. And yet these new generations were forced to reside in shadow, protect their world with unseen actions and unsung battles."

"Oh…" The knots in the rookie's stomach started to tighten as she gripped it. "There's a lot riding on us isn't there?"

"You have no idea." The man drinking stated as he shrugged. "But you'll get used to the pressure sooner or later. After a while killing Demons just becomes like second nature."

"Right… but… " The rookie paused as he looked at his senior Hunter. "Why?" She asked. "Why do demons come down here anyway?" She asked. "Sieg just said that Angels and Demons leave their kingdoms to come here… but… why? What makes us so special?"

"That's the million dollar question." Sieg stated as he took another drink of his coffee. "As I said, beings of both the Dark Kingdom and the White City had made it their business to come to this world on more than one occasion. As for why well… My guess is they were curious about the Third Kingdom, maybe it was that they were trying to get a foothold for some bigger game, or maybe they were doing it for shits and giggles. But they've always taken an interest in humanity, be it to guide us towards the light or corrupt us into the dark. " Sieg pauses for a moment as he looks at his free hand. "That said; there's something about us humans; something that attracts both demons and angels alike." He makes a noise. "Maybe it's our frailty, maybe it's our innocence or ignorance, maybe it's just our nature." He clenches his hand. "Old writings say that since the old days more than one Angel had fallen for mortals- just as more than one Demon ran from the Dark Kingdom due to the same circumstances." He made a scoffing noise. "Either case, those that do usually end up becoming guardians for certain humans, others still actually end up courting our kind and producing children of two Kingdoms."

The rookie made a noise as she looked to her senior hunters - her older siblings. "Children… of two kingdoms?" She muttered. "You mean… hybrids?"

"Yeah." An older girl muttered. "But don't worry they're actually kinda cool, so they're not total assholes." the rookie seemed to think about that for a moment before looking at her hands.

"Are we…" She paused. "Are we like them?" She asked. "Are we children of two kingdoms?"

"No actually, Lenore." Noah smirked as he looked at the rookie. "We're human, well mostly. Our family's ancestor wasn't though." He told her. "But what they exactly were is something no one in the family can figure out."

"Oh…" Lenore seemed to think for a moment.

"Hey guys." The one at the computer stated as he drew the trios attention. "Just got in from HQ, there's a hole opening in the Fade."

"Is it nearby?" Noah's smile dropped as he stood, discarding his homework and walked over to the computer user.

"It's close, but it's still going to be a ride, but we should be able to get to it." The man at the computer muttered before he looked at his younger counterpart. "Wanna go for it or should we let someone else have this one?"

"Let's take it."

"You hear that Beatrice?"

"I hear ya."

Sieg made a noise as he looked at his empty cup. "You still want to do a lap after this though?" Noah glanced at their youngest sister before shaking his head.

"No… soon after we're done with this one let's call it a night."

The Next Day

"Noah? Noah!" The young woman just frowned as she looked at the sleeper and nudged him. "Come on Noah, I know you're awake. Get out of bed, we're going to be late for school."

"I don't wanna go." The young man muttered as he rolled over in bed.

"Well, neither do I, but we're still going." Viviane stated as she continued to nudge her counterpart for a moment before placing her hands on her hips. "Now up and at 'em, we got an attendance record to keep."

"You know I don't give a crap about attendance." The young man muttered as he reluctantly pulled himself from bed and looked at his counterpart. Viviane; his elder twin, though that was only by a few short minutes. "And neither do you for that matter, you're the one that skips class."

"I'm also the one with better grades." She states before stepping away and heading towards the door. "Now come on, take your shower and get dressed. We got a full day of tests to do."

"Don't remind me." The teen muttered as he watched his room door close before he started gathering up a few clothes. "God I hate testing days." To be fair, who really did?

The teens ran to catch the light. Noah yawning as soon as he did and glanced back to see both his twin and youngest sister following after him.

You sound tired." Viviane stated the obvious.

"I am tired."

"Honestly, what were you thinking, staying out so late last night. You know we have school today." She remarked as she looked to her younger sister and watched her rub her eyes.

"Hey HQ called, and I couldn't focus on my homework at the time." Noah muttered as he and his sisters made the light and he slowed down to walk. "I figured if I got the blood pumping I'd be able to focus easier."

"And did it work?"

"I got my homework done in the end."

"At 12 midnight right." The young woman states as she nudges her brother. "And given the fact that you're seriously tired I don't think you really 'slept' when you were done either."

"I got a few hours in."

"I did too." Lenore muttered as she stretched slightly as Viviane patted her head.

"I'm glad for that. One of you needs their beauty sleep more than the other. You wouldn't want to get wrinkles early now would you." Lenore tried batting the hand away before resting her hands on her head as if it would protect her.

"Yeah yeah, I guess not." Lenore muttered with a light smile as she looked ast her older she pulled himself to a stop and took a glance at one of the nearby store TV's.

"What's up?"

"Check it out." Viviane just stayed silent as she looked at the screen for a moment.

"Breaking News. Meteor Clusters Hit the Earth." She read as she made a noise. "Military begins evacuating citizens." She crossed her arms. "Well that's not good."

"Yeah." Her brother muttered as he continued listening to the broadcast for a moment. "I thought the clouds looked kinda ominous today."

"It shouldn't be too bad though." Viviane asked as their younger sister tugged on one of their sleeves. "What's up Lenore?"

Lenore just pointed skyward as the twins turned their head, just in time to see a meteor crash into one of the buildings as the screaming started. "Oh… shit!" The trio moved, looking at one another as the city came alive, people running beside and over one another as several more meteors started to fall.

"Time to go!" They weren't sure which of them said it, but they didn't need to be told twice. Running, bolting down the street the trio ran alongside the rest of the city.

"Subway!"

"On it!"

Noah moved, pushing through the crowd as he turned to follow after his sisters. When they made their way to the station, they took cover, as did a few smart others as they felt the ground start to shake. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I think someone touched my ass on the way here but I'm good." Viviane muttered as she rubbed her but

"Oh my, what a tragedy." Noah rolled his eyes before looking to Lenore, who already hands hands on her knees as she tried catching her breath. "Lenore."

"I'm ok." She muttered before taking a minute to watch the subway shake again. "Suddenly I'm not too sure about being underground when there's meteors pelting everything above."

"Would you rather be outside?" Viviane asked as she peeked out the subway.

"No…"

"Didn't think so." Noah reached for his phone, pulled it out and started going through his contact.

"Who are you calling?"

"Mom and Dad." The teen muttered before his phone rang halfway through his search for the number. "What the, why are they calling at this time?" The teen grumbled as he answered the call. "Hello?"

"Noah, glad I got through to you."

"Not the best time, Nomad." The teen muttered as the ground above him shook again. "We got meteors dropping on our heads here."

"That's not all you got."

"What the hell is that supposed to mea-" something howled and Viviane twitched and Lenore snapped at attention. Looking towards the stairs to the outside world they heard the screaming resume. Running back outside, the trio took a moment to look around, watching the city continue to be bombarded before their eyes rested on something stomping in the distance. Massive in nature it tossed aside cars and buses alike. It wasn't alone, there were other hellish creatures as well charging as well, most of them of a smaller stature and running over and across the streets like a pack of wild dogs. Noah just put his phone to his head as he looked down another street, finding another pack of these hellish creatures charging off somewhere as well. "Nomad~."

"I know, and it's not just your city; holes are popping open in the Fade everywhere on earth. Monitors are going crazy."

Noah froze before his eyes narrowed. "You mean…"

"I'm saying we got a Global Infestation on our hands… it's a full on Demonblight."

"What's going on Noah?" Viviane asked

"We got work to do." The teen muttered as he lowered his phone and looked at his sisters.

"Noah… Noah? You still there? There's more you need to know!"

Ignorant to the next words Noah hung up the phone and stared off into the distance. "It's a Demon Blight." His twin sister narrowed her eyes as well and looked to the demonic infestation as Lenore squirmed uncomfortably.

"But… I haven't even had my first hunt yet!" She muttered as Viviane put a hand on her sister's shoulder. "I can't fight off a Blight!"

"It's ok." Viviane whispered. "Everythings going to be fine."

"I'm not ready…"

"You're only as ready as you feel." She muttered as she rested her forehead against her sisters. "If you don't feel ready, then don't fight." Viviane never broke eye contact with her sister. "Get one person underground, get them to safety.

"Then what?" Viviane smiled. "You'll know." She broke the hold as she stepped away before igniting the seal on her wrist and brought a mammoth sword into existence. "I'm going ahead Noah." She didn't wait for a response as she took off. Noah just nodded as his twin disappeared and approached his younger sister andrepeated the action his twin had done, resting his forehead against Lenore's.

"You got this." He whispered. "I'll see you later, ok?" He pecked her forehead before backing off and taking off running.

A woman screamed as a demon fell upon her, making it's attempt to leap at her. It never made it, in an instant it was skewered, Viviane's greatsword stabbed through the side of its neck before ripping it out. She faced the horde as they turned to her, roared and charged. She didn't waste any time; the first one that was on her she dodged, bringing his weapon around as he struck their face before moving to the next. This one lost an arm as she spun and followed it by cutting them in two uneven halves. The third she dodged and moved around, kicking them in the chest before turning and stabbing his blade into their throat. The demon struggled for a minute before falling limp above the ground. Viviane just took a minute to pull her free weapon back and held it at her side.

"O-oh my god."

"Run!" Viviane didn't even look back as she barked the order, but she heard the woman scramble to her feet and take off anyway.

In the meantime the rest of the demons just looked in her direction and roared. The human drew their attention in an act of either bravery or stupidity as she looked at all of them for a moment.

"Well what are you waiting for?" They charged and Viviane took a moment to adjust her weapon, hoisting it over her shoulder as she hunched forward. "Come on."

In a blur of movement Noah tore through the necks of various demons before skidding to a stop, turned and met the horde that was crawling out of the craters lodged in both streets and buildings alike.

"Minions huh?'

One lunged at him and he ducked under. His blade took their limbs, he moved to the next. He deflected a strike, twisted and stabbed a third. He returned to the second, kicked it away before stabbing behind him. When one came at his side he separated his blades and stabbed one into the creature's eye and pinned it into the ground. Pulling back he returned his focus to the one he had kicked and swung his blade at it. It dodged, stepping to the side before lunging. He countered by ramming his shoulder into its face and pushed it back before stabbing it.

Noah reconnected his blades and turned to face the next batch stopping when he saw a car falling in his direction. He dodged as fast as he could, rolling to his side before returning to his feet. Another Minion was on him as he locked it's jaws between the handle of his weapon. He separated his weapon too as he stepped back and when it fell forward he kneed it in the face before sandwiching it's head between the handles and headbutted the demon. He turned, pulling one weapon back as he knocked the demon to the side before doing a full turn to swing his blade at another and stepped forward. He reconnected the blades before throwing a hand out, a rope-dart firing from under his sleeve and latching onto another Demon and pulling them to his weapon. Turning he slammed the skewered demon into another before pulling his blade free with a full turn.

The rest of the demons just looked at the sight, whether they were surprised by the human's quick work of their kind or impressed or even worried was up for debate. That said however they charged him nonetheless, moving seemingly in a frenzy as he met their charge. He jumped off a car, denting it's hood as he took to the air before spinning his weapon behind him and cut one of his palms enough to make it bleed. He brought his hand down in the middle of the horde spikes the color of both smoking ash and embers erupting from the earth as they skewered the masses. When he rose he returned to running.

He bit his lips as he moved, spinning as he swung his weapon left and right and pressed on. "There's so damn many." He spared a glance upward. "And yet…" More meteors were falling, more demons were slipping through the fade of reality to come to Earth. "This is just the beginning." He muttered as he cut down another demon and skid to a stop. One leapt at him and he dodged twisting as he planted a hand on the ground and slammed his leg into its face. He heard a scream and got to his feet, without looking he threw his weapon, letting the twin blades spin like a saw's blade as they stabbed into a demon's side. He raised an arm, calling his weapon back thanks to a rope growing out of his sleeve as one charged him from behind. Clenching his fist he backhands the creature into a car as his blade fell limp and hit the ground a few good feet away from him. Another pack of minions and the hunter just took a step back and curled his bleeding fingers, bones cracking as they were wrapped in energy that took the appearance of a claw.

The first that charged took a fist to the face and went back, the next that came at him took an uppercut to the jaw and a second to the chest. He ducked under the third and went for the forth, extending the claw to grab onto it and brought it over his head. He slammed it into the ground, dragged it along the dirt as he charged and jumped. He smashed it into another before letting them go and threw a kick, effectively punted the pair across the street. When it was over Noah as he slipped his foot under the handle of his weapon kicked it upward. The ashen energy disappeared as he grabbed it and brought the weapon back.

"A few down… a billion or so to go." Something roared in the distance, drawing his attention as he narrowed his eyes. Big one raised a car over it's head and tossed it at him from across a couple streets. Noah slid a foot back on the ground and took a breath. In a second he's gone, a small displacement of air following the act as he landed on top of the car and kicked off. When he landed on the ground he rolled to his feet and caught the large Demon's attention. 'Trauma demon… ok the big guys are showing up now.' The demon roared at him, as he braced himself. They raised a fist meant for him as he pointed his blade forward, and in an instant it fell something crashing into its head as Noah's eyes widened.

'Why?'

Beautiful white wings.

The being, an angel stood, pulling her majestic greatsword from the Trauma's skull with a single hand and let the scarlet slip off as the demon dropped. Only she did not fall with it; instead with a flap of her wings she steadied herself in the air and gazed down at the hunter. In all his short years, he had heard of them, her kind were real, but never had he been lucky enough to actually see one before.

'Why is she here?'

"You have fought well son of man, your actions today bring honor to your Kingdom." The cocoa hued, sapphire eyed woman stated. "But the day is not done. More of hell's army lies in wait." Noah took a moment, his gaze shifting to see few of the demons that had been running off were being pushed back. Heaven's forces here. "I shall pray to the Creator for your safety in the coming battles."

"Why…" Noah muttered as the woman turned her attention to see a new demon leering at her as she returned the glare. "Why are you here? Why is Heaven's army here?" He asked. "Old writings say the Angels wished to have nothing to do with past Blights so why?" 'Don't tell me…'

"Blight?" The woman muttered. "That is your term for Demonic Infestation, yes? Make no mistake child this is more than a simple 'Blight'."

'Don't say it.'

"The seals have been broken, battle rights have been declared, and the Endwar is upon us." She stated as Noah felt his heart stop. "But something… something is wrong. It is too early, The Kingdom of Man isn't ready yet…" The woman whispered as she heard a demon's roar and turned her head. A large demon growled as it glared at her. She returned it's gaze and turned towards it. Without another world the demon flew at her and the teen watched her fly after it as well. They met in the sky, colliding in a mess before breaking away. How their fight went Noah wasn't sure. He drowned it out, focusing his attention on nothing as repeated the words in his head.

"The seals have been broken, battle rights have been declared, and the Endwar is upon us."

The Endwar; the End Times, the Apocalypse, the final battle between Heaven and Hell. "Well fuck~." The teen muttered as he shook his head. "So it's that time finally… I heard about it in the old writings but I never thought…"

"But something… something is wrong. It is too early, The Kingdom of Man isn't ready yet…"

"What did she mean though, how can it-" Noah heard something roar and he snapped him out of his daze. He moved, rolling to the side as a Goremaw almost bit into him. "Focus Noah, no time to get distracted." He saw demons climbing over cars and buses, several of them looking at him before howling. "You are literally in the middle of a war here — try making sense of things later." He told himself before charging.

Atop a building a figure took a moment to watch, their twin guns resting beside them as they looked at the young hunter's action. "Well what have we here?" They muttered before watching the two hunters take down another set of demons. One demon charged the watcher themselves and he barely turned, hole ripping through their head as they dropped to the ground. The watcher lowered their gun before making a noise. "Gotta say, they're not too bad."

Ten steps and Noah vanished, reappearing behind a demon as he spun his weapon. He took their neck, and moved on to the next, stabbing downward as he threw himself over the demon and made a number of strikes at their back. When he landed he cut of their legs, and before a demon latched onto his weapon arm with their teeth. He winched slightly, before snapping his free hand to their face and burned them with his palm. When they backed up he countered swinging, taking their head before looking around. Surrounded he spun his weapon before taking a few steps to the side and looked at the horde. "What I'd give for some back up right now." The hunter muttered as he brought his weapon behind him and grabbed it with both hands and separated the blades.

There was no graceful dance, there were no acrobatic stunts, all there was was a display of refined skill blended with bestial fury. Blood was spilled, flesh was cut, bodies fell, Demon's dropped one after the other as Noah moved between them… and they kept coming. Every one he cut down seemed to be replaced with two, and every two was replaced with four and so on. Seemed like the whole Horde was focusing on him at the moment. Still Noah didn't stop, rather he kept his focus on cutting down the masses before him.

Getting tired, he may have been trained to fight this, but he didn't have the desired experience under his belt for dealing with demons in such a mass. Most he got were two or three a night, not… this. 'Not used to dealing with these many demons.' Noah thought as he kept moving. 'Gonna have to start concerning stamina.' He told himself before watching a number of demons lunge him. They stopped however, being pushed back from a wave of energy that exploded around him. "That wasn't me." The hunter muttered as he looked at the smoking energy that scarred the ground before him.

"Still alive Noah?" Smiling he looked behind him, his attention momentarily shifting to Viviane coming to his aid. That mammoth sword of hers hoisted over her shoulder as she returned the smile.

"You would know if I died."

"Yeah, being twins has its benefits." Viviane stated as she stood with her brother and got ready for the next wave. "It hates that you're always in the back of my head though."

"Can't be helped, I'd close the door connecting us if I knew how." The Hunter stated as he adjusted twin blades and reconnected them. "How are we looking?" His tone shifted, becoming serious as his sister's smile dropped.

"Can't really say." Viviane admitted. "Everything's chaos but Lenore is getting as many people down below as she can.." She watched the pack of Goreclaws start circling them. "Meantime "we" get to play a bit more, so let's buy everyone some time."

"Gladly." That said the two hunters charged as the demons returned the gesture.

"The law is clear: when the Seventh Seal is broken… Four Horsemen shall ride forth to punish the wicked… be they Sons of Men...Lords of Heaven… or the Dregs of Hell."

"All upon the Earth will be judged, and the pact forged anew…