"Seven hours. Seven long hours.

That's how long the meteor fall lasted. That's how long it took for the last angel and demon to spill out from the Gates of their respective kingdoms and fall to Earth, turning it into a battlefield fit for the ages. That's what the End War was though, wasn't it? The War to end all wars, one with man, demon and angels at its forefront.

And for what, the honor of an absent Creator?

Because the Charred Council demands it in the name of balance?

None could find the answer; as when the first hour of contact was made no battle rights were declared. War needed no such sporting obligations. The Hellguard and the Dregs of Hell clashed in streets to continue their blood-feud following an armistice, with Man caught in the middle, dying in the streets and gutters like sewer rats. As integral they were meant to be they played an of so little part in the End War. With both Heaven and Hell quickly coming to believe their extinction was all but inevitable.

But if that was the case… we wouldn't have much of a story now, would we?"

One Month Later

London, England

The Underground was a rumor left by a forgotten age. There was no proof that it existed, well, not officially anyway. The London Underground was built by families associated with the Freemasons. Every batch of cement used in the construction of London's tube station, was handcrafted in preparation for a potential Demon Invasion, so that in light of a dark hour the Kingsmen and their allies could transform them into a safe haven.

Sitting in what could be considered her "quarters", a young woman breathed as she opened her eyes. Her moment of self reflection and inner cleansing had come to an end as she turned her attention to the icon that was resting on the pedestal before her. It wasn't the Catholic Cross, nor the White City's Crossblade. It was… a circle, etched with a simple yet bold design with nine swords resting at its edge and encircling a dragon.

The Dragon represents King Arthur.

The Swords represent his Knights

The circle represents his Round Table.

King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table.

Getting to her feet, the young woman stepped away from the Icon as she turned to her equipment, and looked them over as she checked to see what she had to work with.

She didn't carry much, but she had what she knew she could use..

There were her twin auto-guns, enchanted so that her magic could either empower steel shells or even fire it as a "Pseudo-bullet".

There was her Combat Cross, a replacement for the heavy flails used by her ancestors; it was easy to carry and with a wonderfully retractable chain within it.

Then there was her claymore, the massive blade imbued with mystic properties that could harm the wicked, be they an angel that fell from the High Heavens or a Dreg of the Hell's Dark Masters.

Then there was the armor she wore at this moment. Inspired by knights of old with some modern altercations, it was flexible, breathable and highly resistant to even the claws of a Trauma Demon, and what she found to be a true blessing though, was that her armor was as much a weapon as it was a shield.

Then again when your armor is both enchanted and mechanical, and equipped with power fists that was to be expected. Gathering her weapons, setting them on her person, the woman took a breath as she headed out returning to the underground as she looked around.

There lie hundreds, maybe thousands of people here. Men, women, children - countless individuals he'd never met till now had been brought here. They weren't certain what to do, though he understood they were trying to make sense of what was going on in the world now. Demons ran wild across the globe and angels had descended to combat them. This was no fantasy or masterful illusion. They had seen them when the Endwar began, seen them with their own eyes. How could they make sense of such things without questioning their beliefs?

"Galahad."

Turning her head the lady-knight looked to see her fellow knight looking at her. "Percival." She greeted. "What is it?"

"We're nearly ready to move above ground."

"Good." She muttered. "I'm tired of just waiting down here."

New York City, United States

It's only been a month since the Endwar began. Yet it was frightening just how much the world seemed to have changed in that short amount of time. The presence of hell's dregs have had an adverse effect on the world itself. Old writings refer to it as the Burn, others know it simply as the Hellgrowth. These cancer-like growths that grow in abundance in corners of the world where Demons find themselves resting. What the Hellgrowth truly is, is something still up for debate. Humanity know not if it is simply the effects of a collective demonic presence or if it is simply a demon in it's own right. All they know is this. The Hellgrowth spread, much like one would expect a plague; and as it spreads the land blisters, the air grows rancid and poisonous, as the lucky die and wither away. Those left behind are hunted by the Dregs of Hell, for what purpose though is also unknown.

All that is known is that the Hellgrowth appears to terraform - rather "hellform" whatever world in creation it digs its roots into; With the process needing years and decades before it is done.

That may be it's only saving grace.

Still, in the early months of the Endwar, that is but one thing that has changed the Kingdom of Man.

For one month the Third Kingdom has been at war. For one month, the Dregs of hell have clashed with Heaven's Hellguard. Cities lie broken and in disrepair. Buildings like empty and near forgotten. Cars have been abandoned in the roads and on the outskirts of towns. The abandoned dead litter the streets, expressions twisted in some form of horror and pain.

The city is silent.

"It's so quiet…"

The Third Kingdom had fallen, Humanity wasn't ready for this war, and those that fought to protect it knew as much.

Still…

Noah took a breath as he took a moment to look down the streets of Manhattan. He never knew the city could be so damn quiet. He had been out during the latest of nights that melted into the early mornings. It had never been this quiet in his memories. He just made a noise as he looked around, scanning a dead city before his attention drifted to see a police car who's door had been left open. He glanced inside, taking a minute to see what was left behind and found a riot shotgun resting side. Pulling it out he checked it over before making a noise and set it aside as he started looking for ammunition. Soon as he was done searching he closed the cop door before just staring at his reflection and sighed in annoyance. He rubbed the small scar on his cheek as he shook his head, muttering something as he did.

"What, don't like the new scar?" Viviane asked as she walked up to her twin and smiled. "Don't worry, I hear chicks love facial scars." Rolling his eyes Noah released a smile of his own and looked at his sister. "They find them sexy~"

"Well, do you?" Viviane started to gag. "Didn't think so."

"Hey I like scars, but not on you. You have my face after all." Viviane stated as she stretched and looked at her brother. "So find anything?"Noah just gestured to the shotgun, and a few slugs before tossing it to his sister. Catching it the huntress just made a noise as she checked to see if it was already loaded. "Nice~" She asked before looking at her brother. "Anything else?"

Fraid that's it." Noah muttered as he scratched his cheek and leaned against the cop car. "No medical supplies or a sidearm."

"Keys?"

"Nope."

"Boo~" Viviane grumbled as she put the shotgun over her shoulder. "I wanna drive, it's faster than walking."

""Yeah well -" Noah fell silent as he looked at his twin. "Wait, don't you know how to hotwire a car?"

"Duh, don't you?"

"Yes." Noah stated as Viviane chuckled. "If that's the case we could just jump start this thing."

"Then let's get this car started."

"You sure you want to do that?" Turning both twins looked to see Lenore adjusting her pants and looked at the pair. "I mean, won't the noise attract someone."

"Most likely." Noah muttered as he looked back at his youngest sibling and tossed her some hand sanitizer which she promptly started to use. "Plus there's the chance of us being in a 'metal box' when something finds us."

"Good point." Viviane muttered as she made a noise. "Aw~ wait does that mean we can't drive around town?"

"Not yet."

"Boo~" Viviane whined as she looked at her younger sister and tossed her the shotgun. "Here."

"Huh?" Lenorte looked at the shotgun for a moment before looking at her elder sister. "Why are you-?"

"In shotgun training you score higher than I do." Lenore just looked at the shotgun for another moment before s lowly nodding, though both her siblings could tell that she still wasn't all that ready to actually use it.

As the youngest of their Family, Lenore had less combat years under her belt, which in itself was fine, but it wasn't ok that she was now thrust into an invasion - rather the endwar without even having gotten her first kill under her belt. Unlike all ten of her older siblings she wasn't ready. Not yet.

'That's fine.' Viviane though. 'She's not ready… but she didn't let that stop her when all this started. She was able to save people and get them underground before that entrance caved…' On reflex Viviane ruffled her sister's hair. 'She did good, she might not be ready to kill, but she was brave. That's all that matters.'

"Stop it." Lenore muttered as she pushed her sister's hand away. "So, um… any word from command yet?" Noah shook his head for a moment. "Not yet huh?"

"Fraid not." Noah turned his gaze skyward. "I think the hub for our broadcasting network got hit when the veil between our reality got torn apart and everyone fell from the sky." Noah muttered before crossing his arms.

"Well, what about mom and dad?" Lenore asked. "Have you been able to get into contact with them?" Again noah shook his head as Lenore all but hugged the shotgun. None of the siblings had heard from their folks since everything seemingly fell apart. As it stands they were truly on their own. If the network was down they couldn't contact any Hunter Cells, be they local or global. And wore if their family wasn't around - if their parents and older siblings were missing than…

'Don't think like that.' Noah thought. 'Our family is this out there, and we can find them.' He continued to think. 'Right now, just focus on what's in front of you. Your sisters are here, and you have to keep them alive.'

'And we'll keep you alive too.'

Noah paused as he glanced at Viviane for a moment, seeing her release that light but trustworthy smile of hers as she adjusted her greatsword. He could feel her words echoing into his brain, not only that, but he could feel her put an unseen 'hand' on his shoulder as well.

Twin Telepathy; turns out it wasn't all bullshit.

'We got this, little Brother.'

'I know.' Noah responded as he looked at his twin with a tight smirk as Lenore looked between the two.

"Um~" She began as she tapped her forehead. "Are you two doing that thing you do?"

"Right, sorry." Viviane stated as she looked at Lenore before turning back to Noah. "So, what are doing?" She paused. "Other than what we were already doing, I mean."

Noah looked around and seemed to be searching for something. "Safehouse." He said after a while.

"Hm?"

"We have a family safehouse near this city district." Noah stated as he continued staring at the street signs. "We head there, we can finally get some rest, maybe get some real food in our stomach's as we stock up."

"Sounds like a plan." Viviane paused as she sniffed her shoulder and pulled her head away in this exaggerated method. "I need a shower." She stated. "If I don't get one soon than this funk is gonna attract a lot of demons our way."

"Then let's go." Noah stated as he got a nod from Lenore.

"Right."

Tokyo, Japan

She ran. That was the only thing she seemed able to do; Run as fast and as far as those legs of hers were willing to carry her. So she ran, ran from the screaming that echoed down the road she had come from, run from the dreams that would no doubt haunt her waking moments from here on out.

Run from the monsters that were now chasing her.

Monsters, creatures she knew in the old stories her grandmother would tell her. Truth be, she never believed those stories, even though her history was rich in those ancient tales.

She thought they were just that, stories to pass on to the younger generation, so they might live on forever.

But it appeared the fables she once dismissed were real, or at least the monsters that used to haunt her childhood nightmares.

Oni.

Yokai.

Akuma…

She ran from the akuma, ran for her life as she tightened her grip on the young one in her hands, tightened her grip on her daughter.

"It's gonna be ok…" She whispered. "It's gonna be ok." She weezed out as she continued traveling down the Shinjuku district. She coughed, something sneaking down her throat as she kept running. It hurt to breathe; so long as she was near this cancerous growth that perverted the district, it hurt to breathe. Still, she kept running. Kept running even as it felt like her lungs were burning. All she knew was she had to get away, get away from the Akuma that were not chasing after her, running along the streets and some even crawling along the demonic growth that was lining the walls.

She didn't bother to look back to see how close they were. She felt if she did, she'd see one of them seconds away from grabbing hold of her. So she just ran, listening to that voice that was screaming in her ears like a gong being struck.

Run.

Was all it told.

Run.

The Akuma were at her heels, she couldn't let them catch her.

RUN!

She ran, ran even when it felt like her lungs were ready to burst out her chest. Ran even though it felt like her legs were ready to give out.

She ran; it was the only thing she could do.

At least, until that option slipped away from her.

A wrong turn led her towards a dead end. A high fence kept her from the path that rested in front of her. She couldn't climb it, she realized, not with her daughter in her hands, and they were too damn close.

She whispered something, a small unheard 'no' as she dropped to her knees, her legs having given out. She coughed, violently, but she refused to let her daughter go, refused to let her see the small specks of blood that she was coughing up.

She looked back, staring at the ten akuma that were filling the alley.

She wanted to cry.

She wanted to scream.

Yet it seemed all she could do was whimper; whimper as shock took over. Part of her realized that there was a wetness between her legs, making her realize that she had soiled herself, although given the situation, she doubted that anyone would blame her.

"Mommy…" She heard her daughter call out, those tiny fists tightening around her blouse.

"Shh.. everything's going to be alright sweetie." A lie; that was what her mind told her to say as she tightened her grip on her daughter. "Everything's going to be alright, you're just having a bad dream." She told her. "Once you wake up everything's going to be fine."

"A bad dream?" The demons skulked forward as she buried her daughter into her chest.

"Just a bad dream."

"Then why can't I wake up?" the mother fell silent as she heard the question. Not entirely sure how to answer that one

"I don't know sweetheart. I don't know." The pack of demon's lunged, and the woman cdid what she could to shield her daughter.

Something cut though the air and all she heard was a brief yelp in pain and what sounded like something collapsing to the ground.

Cracking an eye open she noticed that the demon's had stopped moving, one of which was on the floor and seemingly unconscious with needles buried into its skull. The chain fence behind her rattled and turning she saw that there was a figure walking through a breach that cut through it. She just looked at the figure, noting their appearance. Simple black hair and matching jacket that reached their ankles over what seemed to be some kind of uniform. What stood out though were the katana in their hand, not to mention the faceless mask that they were wearing.

"Who…" The mother asked. "Who are you?" The person didn't even spare her a glance as they drew the packs attention. The first demon to immediately split in two as the masked man just stepped forward, letting the two halves hit the floor beside him. The woman noticed that there wasn't any blood, rather looking at the dead, she noticed that whatever had split it in two had burned it's wound, caurterizing the cut and cooking whatever was left inside till it smelled like meat on a grill.

The masked man just stepped forward as he approached the small pack, using his thumb to flick his blade out a bit. The rest moved and so did the masked man, but… when he did, he disappeared. He slid to a stop behind the furthest akuma and as he did he made a full turn with his blade and split it in half. Realizing where he was, another turned and met his scabbard as it knocked them off balance before the katana ripped through them, not once, not twice, but three times in the blink of an eye. He tilted his head to avoid a strike, and his katana cut through them as he stepped forward. Small bursts of speed caused him to reach each of them as he cut them down.

One found his sheath rammed into its belly as it pinned them into the fence behind him. He barely weaved to avoid the next demon as he stabbed them with his weapon and lifted them up. The next came at him and he flicked a wrist in their direction, needles flying out of his hand as he did and stabbed into the demon's skull. Pulling his weapon free from the one it had impaled as he made his way towards the others, making frighteningly quick work of them before returning his weapon to its sheath.

He wretched it free from the one that he'd given it to, letting them fall to the ground before the mother and child as they scooted back and looked at his work.

"Mommy?" No words left the child's mother as she looked up at her apparent savior. "Mommy what just happened?"

"I - I don't know." She whispered as the masked man glanced in her direction before walking off. "But… I… I think we're safe."

For now.

A voice in her head whispered as she noticed the man seemingly glancing down the streets before turning in the direction that she herself had come down.

New York City, United States

Viviane sighed in relief as she settled into a tub, letting the warm water wash over her skin. "Oh man this… this is so much better." The feral eyed young lady muttered as she raised a leg and smiled. "Nothing beats a nice soak in the tub after a full days work of slaying demons." She smiled as she grabbed some soap and started her wash. "So glad the water didn't go when the apocalypse started." She stated before sighing. "Better enjoy it while I can. Mean, sooner or later it's gonna go off." Viviane muttered as she took a minute to massage a sore muscle. "Hey, Noah! You wanna hop in here after I'm done?" No response. "Noah? Noah~"

"What?"

Her brother's voice echoed out in her brain.

"I'm in the bath, you wanna hop in after I get out?"

"Let Lenore get in before me."

"Kay~." She responded "What are you doing out there?"

In the safehouse living room Noah just took a breath as he looked over some of the gear he had laid out on the table as he started looking everything over.

There were his wrist-blades that were starting to rust from lack of cleaning, and as his wrist mounted grapple hook was going to need some maintenance so as to not jam up on him. Something he could work on real quick.

From the safehouse shelves there were throwing knives, a few chakrams and caltraps, small things he could use when the time came.

There was his hand cannon, which now had a fresh supply of bullets at its disposal.

There was an assortment of bombs and throwable traps like the deployable net, which he'd also pulled from the safehouse wares.

Lastly there was his trusted twinblade, both scarred and chipped from lack of proper maintenance.

He'd give the Hunter's Order one thing, they certainly kept up a versatile set of equipment on their personnel. Running a hand through his hair Noah took another breath as he reached into his bag and pulled out a whetstone. He started on his twinblades, trying to at least sharpen the dulling edges.

It had been a long month.

A long month of doing nothing but fighting and running just to survive...

"And it's gonna get a lot longer." Noah reminded himself. "War's just getting started." He muttered as he returned to previous thoughts. 'Don't know where our family is and we don't have any word from the Ordermaster…' He thought. "Don't even know how the other cells are doing." That was fine. Noah told himself. They didn't need to be in contact - Hunters were autonomous and they were trained to operate without needing the support of other Hunters, but having the others at his back made him feel better. Made him feel like he wasn't fighting this war alone.

"You're not alone Noah."

Viviane's voice echoed into his mind as he released a light smile.

"Yeah, I got you and Lenore here with me." Noah muttered as he glanced at his youngest sister, who was busy stuffing her bag with rations and medical gear.

"I don't just mean me and Lenore; I mean that we're not alone."

She told him.

May seem like it's just the three of us, but we have allies scattered all over the world. We may not see them, but they're there."

"Yeah, you're right." Noah muttered as he continued sharpening his weapon. Stopping for a moment to turn it over as he looked at the wounds it bore. "It's always good to have someone watching your back." He admitted as he went back to work.

"So, any luck getting in contact with the others anyway?"

Noah glanced at his phone and earpiece staring at them before shaking his head. "No, not yet. Noah muttered. "Last call I sent out was nothing but static." He told her. "That said we should have a backup radio somewhere around here. I'll look for it when I'm done with this."

"Nah, I'll do it. Soon after you're done you hop in here to get clean."

"Alright." Noah muttered, cutting the link that connected him to his sister and got back to work. That said he took a breath before turning his attention to the window, his eyes looking to the late evening that was starting to stretch across the city. "Looks like it's gonna be dark soon." He muttered. "Might have to stay in till sunrise."

"You make it sound like that's a bad thing." Lenore muttered as she looked at some pain medication. Little old, but it was still good; it looked like their parents restocked the place before all this happened. "The war seems to calm down at night, right?"

"Yeah, but that's what brothers me." Noah muttered. "But be they in the light or the shadows, they're still moving." Noah stated. We just have a harder time finding them in the latter." He muttered as his sister pulled something out of her bag and walked over to give her elder brother a water bottle. "Thanks." He whispered.

"Welcome." Lenore muttered as she looked at the weapons her brother had laid out on the table. "Can you use all these?"

"Yep." Noah remarked as he picked up a throwing knife, tossed it in the air and caught it. "Just can't say when I'll end up using them." He muttered as he set the knife on the table before taking a drink of his water.

Lenore picked up a bomb and looked it over.

"Ah~" Viviane sighed in relief as she walked out the bathroom, a towel on her person to hide her body. "I feel so clean~" She mused as she walked up to her other siblings. "I just wish that soap was scented."

"Demons would be able to track the smell they leave." Noah stated as Viviane sighed.

"Yeah I know." She grumbled as she settled on the couch next to the other two. "Looking at all the toys huh?" She asked. "I know that feel." She muttered before picking up a chakram and smiling. "Man I haven't used these in years…" She muttered before sighing. "Anyway Lenore, the bath is free, so you can hop in whenever you're ready."

"Uh right." Lenore muttered as she looked around. "Where are the spare clothes?"

"I'll show you." Viviane stated as she got back up and Noah just looked at the wet stain she had left on the couch. "While you're in the shower, I'll try getting that radio working." She looked at Noah. "Are you gonna be playing with your toys while we're busy?" Noah rolled his eyes but nodded regardless.

"Something like that."