"Onee! Wait up!"

I looked over my shoulder and saw my younger brother running up to me. Shin was so cute. He was all dressed up with a black jacket. Kyaaa! He's trying to imitate his older sister.

Oh Seven Gods! Thank you for giving me such a cute little brother.

Today was Shin's third day going on missions with me. I pushed for this. Mom and Dad didn't want to but my Shin needs experience out on the field if he's going to be like his beautiful, smart older sister. Let me get one more look at… Kyaaah! His little boy cheeks look so pinchable. Okay, Akane, you gotta calm down. He's 13 years old now. He's going to be a man soon. But come on, look at how cute he is.

"Onee?"

And he says Onee still! Tosca told me that at some point in their lives, men stop calling their sister's Onee-chan and call them Onee-san instead. But Shin's not like that. He's gonna keep calling me Onee, right?

"Onee!"

Oh, I have to respond before his cheeks puff any further.

"Yes, Shin-chan?"

"What's the mission today?" he asked.

"Well…" I placed my hand on my chin. What was the mission? I better read it. I think it's in my jacket pocket somewhere. Where is… ah, there it is! I pulled out a folded piece of printer paper and began to read it. My eyes furrowed. This mission is for me and Shin? It calls for two people but the skill level for it is greater than what Shin is capable of.

Well, who cares? I'm there. And I can currently fight and kill Ultimate Class Devils easily. People praised me as a prodigy and the up and coming future Seven Star, destined to surpass all the others. Of course, I can already pressure Mom and Dad in a fight and those two have the power of an entire Pantheon's military force at their disposal, not to mention Dad has enhancements and divine weapons and Mom has the Matoi Kajiri and the Ama-Kakera-no-Ken at her disposal.

But I'll get there. I'll become one of the Seven Stars.

"Onee! What's the mission?" Shin asked.

"Oh right." I let out an embarrassed laugh. I've been doing this for years now and I'm embarrassing myself in front of Shin. "Let's see. We've been hired by the Grigori to do some counter-movements against the Abyss Team. Apparently, Azazel's running an operation against Satanael and he wants us to go there and scope out the area. Maybe get it ready for his strike team."

"Scouting?" Shin asked in a cutesy manner. At least, I thought it was cutesy.

"No, we're there to sabotage and eliminate the front line to clear the way for someone's strike team," I corrected.

"Onee, I don't think you and I have the same definition of scouting."

Ahhh! Wait, Shin don't leave without me!

"When did you learn how to use Gate?" I asked.

"Eh? The last Ryuu Matsuri. Kureha and I had our yearly bet to see who could learn it fastest," he said.

I watched him pull out a white talisman. It glowed with a shade of yellow that was way too bright. It reminded me of that delinquent devil's hair color. My precious Shin was about to throw it when he suddenly stopped and turned to face me.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I… I don't know where we're going," he said.

"Oh. Right, I forgot to tell you where it was." That was my bad. I made Shin look bad. It's okay. His beautiful, smart, powerful older sister would teach him everything that came with this life. "Right. So Azazel placed out an open hire to clear the way for his strike force to go in and fight without having to clear out the front line. The location of the mission is… huh? The Underworld?" I squinted.

"Oh that's easy. Where in the Underworld?" Shin asked.

"Hold on. Let me program the Gate. You've never been to Hell before and I know the rough area of this location," I said.

I snatched the Talisman from his hands and reconfigured the characters written on it. "There we go. This is at the mouth of Hell. There's lots of locations across the world that lead to Hell but this one is a well known one. I think there was a documentary on it once."

I threw the Talisman into the air and clapped my hands. A golden torii gate manifested in front of us, showing the entrance to the Underworld.

"Come on," I said, walking through.

"Okay. Let me tell you the first thing about scoping out an area-"

"Onee, this is my third mission with you. I know how to scope out an area. You even me memorize this manual on different ways to scope out an area," Shin interrupted.

I pinched his cheek hard. His eyes squinted in pain.

"Ow! Ow! Onee!"

"Silence, young padawan. Anyway, tell me how many people you can see. You can barely form a full-fledged Holy Sword and you tell me that you already know how to properly gather information? Remember that to Contractors who live as hired guns, information is the most important weapon we have. A God's Authority on our side and Divine Power are nice perks but in the end, no matter how powerful the Authority can become in your hands, it is useless if you don't have information on what you're up against. Now, from the top, what are the three pieces of information we need to get before jumping in headfirst?" I rattled off.

Shin rolled his eyes and sighed.

I let it slide, only because it was so cute.

"Environment, enemy density, and layout. Wait, isn't environment and layout the same thing?" Shin asked.

"Pfft, no. The environment takes into account the weather and geography as well as wind direction and strength. Even the moisture in the air."

"How in the name of Vivi am I going to measure humidity?"

"Eh? It's easy."

"Onee, not everyone has gifted senses like you do. Remember when we went to go get your eyes checked?"

"Okay, first off, I resent that. I've never been called a mantis shrimp before and I don't like being compared to a deep-sea boxer." Jeez, Shin was being so cheeky today.

"Whatever, let's just look at the lay of the land. We're obviously by the entrance of the Underworld since the sky is more distorted than the rest of the Underworld," Shin said.

"And how do you know that?"

"I have that book Cleria-nee-san gave me way back when. She said that Hell had a violet sky. The sky over here is more of a…"

"Rainbow?"

"Yeah. A rainbow."

"Good, now tell me what you see about the enemy camp."

Shin furrowed his eyebrow in an adorable manner.

"Well, straight away I can tell that there are 2 guards up at the front. From our vantage point, if I used Failnacht, I can probably snipe the guards up on the building if I take into account the wind which is blowing at… uhh, 4 or so kilometers per hour?"

"Are you guessing?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I don't have an anemometer." He looked down at the ground.

"Well, the wind feels about a 4, and what direction?" I patted his head lightly.

Shin stuck a finger in his mouth and stuck it into the air.

"West."

"So what angle do you have to make your shots?"

"What? Um…"

"Just kidding! Well, sort of. It's not like your pistols have the range anyway. You might have to use Failnacht's bow form." I smiled and opened my talisman carrier. "So what's your estimated count of their front line?"

"Two in the front. Four up on the roof of the compound. And from what I can see with my limited vision, about twenty patrolling the grounds. I don't know whether they're Sacred Gear wielders but I guess we're just going to have to test our luck," Shin said.

"Close but… half of that force you described of which there are 22 are Fallen Angels with at most two pairs of wings," I said. "Check your Talisman carrier and see if you have enough charm gear. Did you bring Ran?"

"Ran's in my jacket."

As if on cue, the small dog popped its head out. I always had weird thoughts about Ran. Despite being called an Inugami, she had divine power. Maybe she was a Loci? Meh, who cares.

"Did you bring your Shikigami?"

I raised an eyebrow. My Shikigami was on-call. She was this small cute Yatagarasu I met back when I went to Kyoto with Mom and Dad on my first ever mission. That was when I was 6. Yep, I'm a young one. A once-in-a-generation prodigy.

"Hikari's on call but it's not like I'll need her. We'll be in and out and Azazel's team will join us in a bit."

"Right. So, how do we do this?"

"Hmm, let's see. We need a swift fast attack. There aren't that many so blitzkrieging the base should suffice for now. Remember to stay by me. This is only your third mission and the only things you've killed are rampant youkai at Serikawa and low-level stray devils," I said.

"I'll be fine. I have Failnacht. And I can just make lots of swords rain from the sky," Shin said, smiling from ear to ear. He had this excited look on his face. Three missions with me and he still looked as excited as ever to work with his older sister. Oh, El. As God of Creation, Space, and Eternal Time, please let this moment last forever.

"Onee, you're drooling."

"Huh?" I wiped the drool from my mouth and composed myself. No matter what, I must ensure this mission is a success. "So yeah, blitzkrieg. I'll wait. Apply the charm gear on yourself."

"What? But I can fight without them!" Shin protested.

"Nope. I need you to stay safe. If anything, at least apply an Iron Wall Charm to yourself to enhance your durability," I said.

"But Onee, you'll always be there to protect me right? At least, until one day, I'll be the one protecting Onee!" Shin boasted.

I flicked his forehead playfully. "I'll be waiting. Maybe one day you can stop me from flicking your face."

"Okay but look away! Akemi told me that Iron Wall looks better if I take my clothes off," Shin said.

"Shin, what am I going to see that I haven't already?" I said.

"I know but it's embarrassing to apply a spell with you watching," he complained.

"Also, Akemi is trolling you. Iron Wall Charm Gear applies on clothes and through clothes so you don't need to strip," I corrected.

"Fine. Gaihou Gora, come forth in accordance with the law." A blue light enveloped Shin and coated his body in a faint blue shroud.

"Ready?"

Shin nodded and we both hopped down from our location, ready to finish the mission given to us.

Boring.

Weak.

If Satanael had Sacred Gear Wielders, why were they all this pathetic? Not to mention sad. These were all children abandoned by their parents in the belief that they were appeasing some higher power. The best I can do is give them mercy but at least put up a fight if you want to live.

I heard the shlink of my sword as I pulled it out of the boy's back. That boy was only slightly older than me.

"Poor chump. If only someone else found you first, you would've lived a normal life."

"AHHHH! DIIIEE!"

These Fallen were so annoying. A slice here and a slash there was all it took. I heard a pile of meat fall to the ground as I sheathed my sword. No matter how long I did this, the sound of meat hitting the ground in such a wet sloppy manner made me want to gag.

I looked around. This should be enough for-

The ground shook in an odd manner. It felt like an earthquake yet it wasn't all at once. It was artificial. Like something was forcefully slamming against the ground. Something was going down. The tremors are coming from the west side of the complex. That's exactly where…

"SHIN!"

No. He's fine. He's alright. Nothing bad will happen. This is just a run-of-the-mill clear the front mission. I get these all the time. Shin's been on three of them with me. Nothing bad will happen.

Who knows? Maybe Shin caused the ground to shake with a Holy Sword right? But why is the pit in my stomach growing deeper with every step I took? Why does it feel like I'm running through tar?

Cold?

Is that ice? Is that an ice pillar?

Wait…

Ice?

Think! Think! If Azazel is sending his most elite team, Slash Dog, here to launch an offensive attack against the Abyss Team, then the ice must be from Lavinia Reni! But why? Why are they already here!? They aren't supposed to be here for another 15 minutes! And Shin's over there!

Come on! Move faster, me!

My panic might just be misplaced. Right? Please?

I rounded the corner so fast I almost snapped my spine in half.

The smell of iron instantly flooded my nose. Ice. Slash marks from a scythe and wind. Pockmarks and fulgurite from lightning coupled with the smell of ozone. They were here. They were already here. The shadows on the ground were more pronounced than usual.

The wielder of Canis Lykaon was here.

Shin. I have to find him before he gets mistaken as a member of the Abyss Team.

"Shin!"

My voice echoed amidst the explosions of ice and thunder.

Tch! Damnit! Shin, answer me! Please! Tell me you got out before they started to-

I almost tripped on something. I looked down and saw a pistol. My heart started beating even faster.

That pistol had the same design as…

"Failnacht. No, no, no, no, this can't be happening. Shit! Shit! Shit!" I grabbed Failnacht and ran headlong into the chaos.

"Shin! Shin!" My voice was growing more and more desperate.

Please. Please! Oh Seven Gods! Please keep my brother safe. I! I! I…

The sound of Shin's cry filled my ears. I quickly turned and ran in the direction of it. Was he hurt? That sounded like a cry of…

It felt like a nightmare of my worst fears manifested into reality. No, it was worse than that. This was worse than Hell. No perdition could ever create a scenery like this inside my brain. This couldn't be real. This can't be real.

Shin. Shin was impaled by the curve of a large scythe of pure jet black darkness. The scythe was held by a man, no, it didn't look like a man. It was a humanoid wolf-like entity. All the light around it was being sucked in and it radiated darkness from its body. Shin held onto the blade with what little strength he had and I could see the color fading from his skin. His blood dripped to the ground in steady intervals, staining the defiled soil of Hell with his pure life essence.

And that wolf-like man was none other than.

"TOBIO IKUSEEEEEE!"

An inhuman roar I never knew I could utter escaped from my throat.

The wolf turned around just in time for my fist to crash into his face. I felt it all. The bone of his skull cracked underneath the force of my blow. He dropped his scythe and fell on his back.

I felt nothing but rage.

My vision focused only on him and nothing else.

The raw vibration through my fists as I slammed them over and over again into his skull.

Another blow.

The warm feeling of his blood sent a cold, tingling sensation crawling through my entire body.

Another.

My fists were beginning to ache now.

Another.

Even if the pain grew, even if the flesh on my knuckles began to wear down. I will never stop. I will never be satisfied until all I can feel and hear the sound of his skull breaking underneath my fists. Until the warm feeling of his brain can be felt in between my fingers. Until I can feel the warm gelatinous film of his eyes smearing across my knuckles.

I flattened my hand. I'm going to split his face in half.

But my blow stayed.

Something else called out to me to stop my attacks.

"Onee…"

"Shin?" The rage left me as quickly as it came. I rushed over and quickly cradled him in my arms.

"Onee… I… it hurts."

"Shh, shhh, stay with me. Stay with me!" I put pressure on the wound on his torso. Damnit, there was an exit wound. His spine is almost severed clean in half. Blood was leaking from his liver and his gastric juices were damaging his surrounding organs. The foul stench of partially digested food filled my nostrils but that didn't matter. Shin was dying. My little brother was going to die in my arms. Fucking hell! Goddamnit! Why was this happening?

I felt an overpowering chill course through my body. I grabbed Shin in my arms and jumped into the air. A pair of flaming wings erupted from my back.

A blonde woman. A frigid beauty with a large witch's hat. A doll floated next to her and exuded an aura of frost that froze everything around it.

Lavinia Reni.

Her case file was given to me before this quest.

But now's not the time to fight them.

Shin's breathing was growing faster. His body was growing paler and paler in my arms. His blood-stained my arms and clothes.

The Hospital. I need to head to a hospital! I need… I need to. The closest Hospital is in the Sitri Territory! I reached into my talisman carrier and grabbed a gate charm.

GATE!

A golden torii gate opened in front of me and I flew through it, dodging the blasts of wind, lightning, and ice that chased me down.

"SERAFALL!"

My voice billowed with the force of a jet engine. I was running down the hallway of the hospital, attracting the attention of all the medical staff in the vicinity.

I had no time. Shin's breathing was alternating between shallow rapid breaths and slow deep breaths.

"Ma'am!"

A devil doctor appeared in front of me.

"Please. Please! Save him!" I showed him Shin, whose pallor appearance was looking more and more deathly with each passing second.

"What happened?"

"Screw what happened! Just save him! Please! I'm begging you!" I sobbed. My tears mixed with the blood that caked Shin's body.

"Get me a gurney now! Prepare the operating room and get me five vials of Phenex Tears stat! Ma'am! Place him down on the bed!" the doctor ordered.

I nodded mutely and placed my precious Shin down on the gurney. I ran with them as they wheeled the bed towards the operating room.

"Vitals now!"

"Doctor! We're losing lots of blood! His blood pressure is 78/34, his breathing rate is up to 30 and his heart rate is severely tachycardic with 140 beats per minute and rising! It's not sinus rhythm and we're detecting some irregular heartbeats! His oxygen saturation is 73% on 4 L of oxygen and it's not going back up!"

"Damnit! Ma'am! What's his blood type?"

Blood type? I…

"B negative."

"I need 4 packs of B negative RBCs now!" the doctor ordered.

One of the nurses ran away to go get the blood pack.

We were nearing the operating room when one of the nurses forced me to stop.

What? Why are you stopping me? I…?

"Ma'am, I'm sorry but you'll have to remain here while we operate on your brother."

"What? No! Shin! He needs me! Let me through!" I demanded. My hair and eyes began to glow a bright shade of red and flames licked the edge of my boots.

"Ma'am, please calm down. This is a hospital. We'll do all we can to save your brother."

I clenched my fists and punched a wall. The entire wall cracked and the hospital shook violently. I let out an inhuman wail and fell to my knees. I went in for another punch when a strong grip held my arm back.

I whirled on the motherfucker who dared to grab me.

I stumbled.

A pair of arms brought my head into their chest for a warm embrace.

"Ne-tan. Calm down."

Serafall?

I…

I…

Hot tears began to stream down my face even harder.

I didn't know what happened after. All I remember was burying my face deep into her shoulders and wail my heart out. Shin was fighting for his life. There was a chance I was going to lose him. My baby brother. The reason I get up in the morning. The reason I fight to become strong.

To protect his smile.

I don't know how long I sat on the floor in Serafall's embrace. Hours? Minutes? An entire day even. All I know was that it all went black from there and I woke up in a hospital bed. I sat up and gripped my bedsheets.

"You're finally awake. You cried yourself to sleep, Ne-tan."

I turned to her. My benefactor whenever I took missions in the Underworld. The Satan Leviathan.

"Ne-tan?"

"Serafall… how is he?"

"Shi-tan?" the woman-child of a Satan tilted her head. She hopped off the chair she sat on and stretched.

I looked at her pleadingly for any word on my brother.

"Shin-tan is still in the operating room. I got word that he's stable. You brought him here just in time. Any sooner and I would have had to reincarnate him as a Devil just to save him," Serafall said.

Reincarnate? That bastard.

Tobio Ikuse. You did this. You almost killed him. The grip on my bedsheets tightened until everything in the room spontaneously combusted.

"Slash Dog."

"Mmmm?" I felt Serafall's confused stare on my face.

"Where are they?"

"Where?"

"I need to pay them a visit." I threw off the blanket and grabbed my jacket. I put it on and walked out of the room.

"Hey, wait! Ne-tan! Wait! We still need to get you checked out! What the hell happened?"

Serafall's footsteps faded from my ears. I mindlessly walked towards the operating room and stopped outside the door. I placed my hand on the window. I could see Shin, strapped to a number of machines that all worked to keep him in working order while a Devil Doctor applied a continuous infusion of Phenex Tears.

The glass began to rapidly heat and I pulled my hand away from it.

"Ne-tan! Ne-tan!"

"What?"

"Why do you want to know where Slash Dog is?"

Because I want to slaughter them.

I won't stop until I have personally torn out every one of Tobio's organs and slaughter his teammates with a bone from his ribcage.

Of course, I won't tell Serafall this. I just need to give her the details of my mission and that I needed to report in while my precious Shin-chan was being saved.

Don't worry, Shin-chan.

Onee will fix everything. Onee will make everyone who hurt you suffer. Onee will make all the bad people disappear.

"I need to report the mission was successful to Azazel."

"Eh? You were on a mission from Azazel?"

"Yes, I was handling Abyss Team and Shin-chan was with me. He got hurt and that's why he's here. I just need to head to where Slash Dog is and report there."

I smiled. Or tried to. I don't know how fooled Serafall was by this.

"Oh, well, Slash Dog is based in the Nephilim Institute in Grigori Territory. Do you need a magic circle over there? I go there regularly for diplomatic meetings with Shem-tan," Serafall said.

Serafall, bless your demonic soul.

"Yes, I do. Do I owe you for this one?"

I need to maintain my facade.

"No, no. Just call me when you need a circle back."

I smiled. I'm going to crush your skull with my bare hands… Tobio Ikuse.

I walked slowly towards the massive building. Around me, the high-rise buildings of Grigori territory decorated the landscape. The urban jungle where Fallen Angel, their nephilim children, and Sacred Gear wielders taken in by Fallen Angels resided. And this school in front of me was where my prey made their base.

"Halt!"

A guard? This school was guarded.

"Are you a student here? I've never seen you before."

Move.

He took a step toward me.

If you don't let me pass…

"She's probably a student here, Bri. Let's just let her in."

Yes. Let me in. Let me in. Let me…

My eyes fell upon a tall boy with black hair walking across the campus grounds. He had black hair and grey eyes. There were a few bandages on his face but other than that he was fine. He was fine. He was fine.

He was walking and my brother was fighting for his life.

I felt something breaking inside me. And all I saw was red.

"TOBIO IKUSEEEEE!"

Fire. I felt and heard fire.

"Kaengenpu: Setsuna."

I dashed over to him with all my speed. I felt the warm splatter of blood hit my face and the force of a freight train slam into me.

A punch? From who?

I roared. Flames in my hand and the flames on my body grew brighter. I felt it all.

Feel my rage. Feel the fear my brother felt when he was placed on death's door by all of you!

I felt the hum of the air. I caught the offender and felt his bones snap in my grasp. Red? Pointy teeth? Who cares. I squeezed and squeezed, relishing in the sound of his bones creaking. His face was hiding it but his eyes said it all. Pain. Yes, he felt pain. Maybe then, you'll understand the agony my precious Shin feels. I squeezed a bit more and…

Splat!

I let go.

He fell to his knees, holding the squashed grape of a hand that he had. Just a bit more and…

Something pierced my side. I turned in the direction of the shot and saw a girl with brown hair and brown eyes staring at me. You bitch. How dare you interfere!? Are you that desperate to die!?

The girl took a step back when she locked eyes with me.

But I was faster. I grabbed her leg and slammed her into the ground over and over. Over and over like a ragdoll.

Again.

The sound of bones shattering filled my ears.

And another.

I heard her pained cries, begging me to stop. Did you all stop to wonder if my brother was truly and enemy.

And another.

I heard her gurgle out a cry for mercy.

I raised her high into the air and slammed her body down.

I squeezed my grip on her leg. I slammed my foot down on her battered broken body. It felt like a sack of legos.

"No… please. Why are you doing this?"

Why?

WHY!?

I pulled.

She screamed and the smell of urine filled the air.

I threw her leg to the side and walked over to where her head was. I raised my boot and…

Jumped.

A scythe? Ice spears? Flames? Light spears.

Tobio and that blonde witch, Lavinia. And someone else. And a swarm of Fallen Angels.

"Why are you doing this? Are you with the Abyss Team?" Lavinia asked.

Abyss Team? I laughed.

"You almost killed my brother."

"What?"

I slammed Lavinia's face into the cement.

I raised my blade and blocked the blade of Tobio's scythe. A quick slash to his abdomen sent him back. Blood poured from his torso.

Something cold bit at my hands. I looked down and saw Lavinia gripping my arm.

I let go of her face and grabbed her arm. I squeezed. Hard. I felt my fingers puncture the flesh of her forearm. Her warm blood ran down my fingertips. I feel my grip tightening more and more. Her mouth opened to let out a scream. A cry of agony yet I oddly don't hear her. All I could think of was how my brother must have had that same look on his face because of… them.

I squeezed harder and tore.

Her cries don't reach my ears.

The only thing that reached my ears was the sound of her skull cracking underneath my kick.

"Night Celestial Slash Dogs!"

The hum of blades and the sound of a dog's roar filled my ears. I gripped my blade and drew.

"Musou-no-Onigari-Ryuu: Shin'en Kogeki!"

The sound of shattering metal filled my ears.

I caught the mutt in my hands and tore its jaw off before tossing it to the side.

That form. That was the same form that hurt Shin. I felt all my reason leave the window. I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill and slaughter every last one of them!

"Kaen-Meikyofu: Matoi Kajiri: Hoshigami Kaseo!"

The Fallen all hurled their spears at me.

KILL!

I swung my blade. All the spears and Fallen were sliced to pieces.

KILL! The thought rang through my mind over and over again.

KILL! KILL! KILL!

I swung my sword over and over again. The scythe that tore my brother opened shattered. The sound of wet meat being cut into over and over again filled my ears. Blood hit my face, arms, legs, and body.

"TOBIO!"

"STAY OUT OF IT!" I turned around and swung my blade.

The sound of that black-haired girl's screams filled the air as I cut one of her eyes in half.

"SAE!"

"SHUT UP!" I stabbed my blade through his torso and twisted.

DIE!

Flames erupted from my sword and incinerated the entry and exit wound along with the ground underneath.

His mouth was open in an agonized scream.

Yes. Scream. Feel what he felt!

Shin's spine was almost severed. I'll cut your spine in half too.

*Squelch*

My blade severed his spine in two.

I pulled it out.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

Kill him for what he di-

I felt something blast me back and suddenly I was looking at the sky. I quickly got to my feet and saw a Fallen Angel with ten wings and black hair with elf-like ears.

"Stop now before I'm forced to eliminate you."

Eliminate?

Schwing!

I was behind him with my blade extended.

I heard him scream. I raised my blade to finish him when I felt a hand grab my leg. I looked down and saw the red head from earlier. I yanked my foot from his grasp and stomped on his arm over and over and over and over and over again.

I heard the rustle of wings from behind me and I swung my blade again.

Blood sprayed on my face.

I swung again and again and again.

I heard a thud and saw the Fallen on his back, bleeding from his minced chest.

The sound of more wing beats filled my ears.

Fallen. Ten Wings. All holding light weapons.

I'll kill you all! Don't get in my way!

I raised my blade to finish off the redhead when I felt something impale my shoulder.

The whizzing of spears flying through the air filled my vision.

Another presence caught my attention. Stronger. Stronger than everyone I had fought here.

I flipped on instinct and saw… Azazel.

He was standing in front of Tobio's body with a spear in his hands.

"MOVE!"

"I can't do that, Akane. Calm down. Let's talk this out."

Talk? Talk!? Did they talk it out when Shin was over there performing the mission he was assigned?

I ran headlong towards Azazel. I'm going to cut him down! I swung my blade.

I felt his resistance. I pushed and pushed. The sounds of more spears whizzing through the air entered my ears. I kicked Azazel's spear out of his hands and caught it.

His stance. His stance was so easy to copy. I deflected all the spears and threw a spear at one of the Fallen, impaling her through her wings.

The smell of ozone filled the air. Lightning? The bearded Fallen shot at me. I swung my blade.

But my arm was stopped. I turned.

"LET GO AZAZEL!"

The lightning hit my body and I screamed. The pain of a million thunderstorms shot through me for an instant of eternity.

Azazel let go of my arm and I fell to one knee.

No, no, no, no, no!

I was in the air the next moment. The bearded Fallen's throat had been slashed open.

A silver-haired Fallen grabbed my leg and threw me to the ground.

The feeling of the earth impacting my feet sharpened my senses. I somersaulted over the spears and threw my sword right into the silver-haired Fallen's chest.

I rushed towards him to grab the sword when I felt something cold wrap around my feet.

The blonde? No. This feels.

"NE-TAN! STAND DOWN!"

"Serafall? LET ME GO! I need to! I need to!" Flames erupted from my body and vaporized the ice.

"Ne-tan. I was getting worried so I came to check on you. The doctors, they finish-"

I didn't hear what she said. All I could see was the moving upperhalf of Tobio, attempting to sit himself up for an attack.

I was on him the next second. I landed blow after blow.

One.

Two.

Three.

I felt his skull cave underneath my knuckles.

Four.

Five.

I jammed my finger into his right eye and felt the gelatinous material of his eye pop underneath my fingers. I curled and tore it out.

His mouth opened to scream.

I grabbed it and tore his jaw from their joints.

Six.

Seven.

I felt his orbitals shatter. The sound of bone cracking filled my ears.

Eight.

There was never an eight. Serafall and Azazel had both grabbed my arms and pulled me off.

My back hit the ground but I didn't stop. I rushed to finish him when the force of Azazel's fist hit me like a meteorite.

The feeling of brick shattering and my bones rattling along with it resonated through my body as I hit the floor of the school. I got back up and began to run when ice encased my whole body.

"SERAFALL! LET ME GO! I NEED TO KILL HIM! HE HURT SHIN! I'LL RIP HIM APART! I'LL TEAR HIS ORGANS OUT ONE BY ONE AND MOUNT HIS HEAD ON A FUCKING PIKE!"

"AKANE! CALM DOWN!"

Serafall's voice nearly burst my eardrums. I kept struggling. The ice was too hard to break. I need to kill them! I need to kill Tobio!

"Serafall! Let me out right now!"

"No, I can't let you kill them. You need to calm down. Don't make me put you to sleep."

It's no use. The Matoi Kajiri was draining my energy and Serafall's ice was too hard for me to break. But I can't stop. I can't stop here. I need to get them back for what they did. I need to kill them. Come on! Shatter! Melt! Vaporize!

My vision began to swim. I was feeling drowsy. I… Magic! Goddamnit! No! I can't fall asleep! I won't! I won't rest until…

Until…

Black pinpricks began to creep their way from the edge of my vision.

I won't fall asleep.

I need to kill…

Ughh… my head is killing me.

Cuffs on my wrist? I pulled against it.

"What the? Serafall! Where the hell? Serafall? Serafall! Let me out!"

I pulled against the chains. Damnit! These chains are magically reinforced.

The sound of a knob turning and a door hitting the wall caught my attention. I turned quickly and was wrapped in a warm hug.

"Mama? Why are you here?"

"Oh thank Nuwa! You're okay. Serafall told me what happened. Thank the Heavens, you two are alright."

My gaze softened as I felt my mom's warmth fill my entire body. That's when it all began to hit me and I felt a dam break inside me.

"M-Mom… Shin… He's…"

"Shin is fine."

"Papa?"

I felt my dad's relieved gaze on me. I looked up and saw his warm brown eyes looking down on me. "Shin is in another room, resting up. If you promise not to slaughter Azazel on sight, we'll undo the seals."

Azazel? He's here?

I felt my fists tighten. The feeling of pain when my fingernails pierced my flesh brought me down to reality. I felt a tired sigh escape my lips and nodded. If Shin was okay, then I'll stop… for now.

The sound of the cuffs unlocking and the feeling of pressure gone from my wrists was a welcome relief. The rush of divine power through my body felt like I had gotten something back that I lost for too long.

And after that, I ran and never stopped. Not until I got to the room where I sensed Shin's faint divine power. I didn't even register the door and slammed right through it.

Shin.

There he was wrapped in bandages, sleeping soundly as if nothing had ever happened. There were lines on his body that went to things I didn't even know about. I was shaking. Not in rage but in relief and guilt. Everything was hitting me all at once.

Guilt.

Powerlessness.

Grief.

Anger.

And all of them told me one thing.

I'm weak.

"Shin…" The sensation of his warm skin against my calloused hands.

"I'm sorry… I did this. I was too weak to protect you. I wasn't strong enough to take revenge on the people who hurt you…"

"Onee…"

Shin? I looked up and saw his smile. His eyes looked out of it but I could clearly see that he was talking to me.

"Did we win?"

I almost laughed. Even after being run through with a scythe, that's his first question?

"Yeah, we got them."

"So when's the next one?"

Eh? Next one? What is he talking about? He wants to go on another one after what just happened. I… I don't want to lose him again.

He's not ready.

No, wait stop. He's your brother. Don't hold him back.

But he'll get hurt again.

But if I stop making him go, he'll resent me forever.

No, there's a way that I can do this and make him stop.

I…

"Shin, I think we should take a break for a little. At least, until you can create two holy swords."

"Huh?"

"Let's stop taking missions for a bit and live a normal life."

"Onee?"

"Please… for me."

I saw a look of uncertainty on his face. He didn't want to stop. He wanted to keep going. He looked like he was desperate to prove something. I don't want to stop either but…

I can't bear the thought of losing you during every mission.

"We can go back when I can make two holy swords right?"

Eh?

"Right? Do you promise?"

"I…"

"Swear on it."

I forced a smile.

"Yeah. We'll go on missions together again. I promise."

"Until then, just you wait, Onee! One day, I'll be just like you! I won't hold you back anymore."

"Yeah…"

This is the second interlude. It's written completely in first person from Akane's point of view. There's a reason for this which will be shown in the final half of this arc. But mostly, this was to show a stark contrast from the current Akane of now. The Akane of back then was cocky and confident, believing that her skills at the time were enough to even allow Shin to do his own thing during the mission. Also, it showed the reason why Shin doesn't go with Akane on missions as much. This event and promise between the two will be brought back up.

Now, let's get on with the rest of this arc. Remember to leave a review and to have a great day or not, the choice is yours.