Chapter 2: Light up the sky

Swiss Alps

The ten remaining soldiers continue their trek up the mountain. Unlike the Grigori, these men are trained specifically for mountain conditions. Thus, their pace is fast and steady.

"Communications with the secondary team have been interrupted."

"Enemy units are en-route to location. ETA, 10 minutes."

"Units 11 through 15, initiate anti-personnel protocols."

"Understood. Unit 13 will take command of this operation."

"Affirmative."

"New orders received from headquarters...updating now."

The soldiers pause as their personal computers update. Despite their robotic like movements, every single one of the soldiers is human.

Upon receiving the new orders, all the soldiers blink once, their eyes refusing to believe the words scrolling on their screens. But their eyes don't lie.

-Begin Message-

[Testament] Commanding Officer currently en-route to your location.

Paint your location with a flare and prepare for his arrival.

-End Message-

The leader of the team, known as Unit 20, motions to the rest of his team to spread out. He then removes a green smoke flare from his pocket and fires it into the air. The trail of smoke flies into the air, where it remains, fizzing and popping all the while.

"Sir, are these orders really-"

"Correct 17, these are our orders."

"But for one of them to come here-"

"We don't question orders. We simply follow them. Though-" The man known as Unit 20 glances at the sky. In the distance, flashes of light, like a flashlight being rapidly turned on and off, are steadily growing brighter. "This is the first time I've ever seen one in the flesh."

"You've never met one? How often do these guys show themselves?" The light is growing brighter. Every so often, there would be a flash of light, followed by roughly two seconds of nothing, before a larger and brighter flash of light would fill the sky. .

"Almost never. They're solo agents who take only the most difficult missions given by our leader." The light is now directly above the soldiers, so bright that they're forced to activate their blackout visors. The light disappears, revealing what appears to be a sixteen year old boy floating in the air. To the soldiers, it was as if the light had morphed into the boy. Suddenly, the boy changes into a beam of light, before crashing into the snow directly below the flare.

Standing in the centre of the now smoking snow is the boy. His hair, white with light yellow streaks, seems to glow in the sunlight. Similar to the soldiers, the boy is dressed in pure white. Unlike the soldiers, the boy's outfit is a white suit and pants. A pair of aviator sunglasses with yellow lenses covers the boy's eyes.

"Sir." The man known as Unit 20 raises his visor and bows his head. "I hope you had a good trip."

"It was alright." The boy answers. Despite the freezing weather, the boy doesn't look cold. "One minutes to travel across the sea isn't too bad. Though its such a pain to land." The boy glances around the landscape. "By the way, I saw a bunch of dead people about 200 meters away. They ours?"

"Yes. A Grigori team is also heading for the package. Our secondary team was ordered to hold them off." The boy tuts.

"Well they obviously didn't do a good job did they?" The boy turns towards where the bodies are located. "Now then, the rest of you head to the package. I'll take care of this mess." Before Unit 20 can say anything, the boy turns to light and disappears.

"He's quite cruel isn't he, berating our team mates for dying. He could at least show a little sympathy."

"Not surprising really. I mean, if these people are as strong as Gods, I don't think human life means much to them."

"Actually, I think its just him. The [Demon's Bane] is said to be incredibly cruel, even by the other's standards."

"[Demon's Bane]...Wait, that was the [Demon's Bane] just now!?"

"Didn't the light show give it away? That guy is a monster wearing human skin. Rumour says that not even the Maou themselves could handle him. And that's if they all attack him at once."

"...shit. I'm actually starting to feel sorry for those Grigori now."

"Don't be." Unit 20 turns around. In front of him, the target location was just visible. "Let's go, we're almost there.


Swiss Alps

The said Grigori were also feeling quite sorry for themselves. They had barely walked 20 steps before being bombarded by lasers.

"What the fuck!?" Tigiris curses. One of the beams had grazed his shoulder, leaving a gaping hole. "Where are these coming from?!"

"Do those guys have laser weaponry to boot?!" Airenal is hiding behind a snow mound, which is quickly being melted by the lasers. "I thought Azazel said that there wouldn't be this sort of thing for at least another ten years!"

"If they had such a trump card, they would have used it against us during the ambush!" Ravenage is lying on the ground, the lasers harmlessly passing above him. "This is definitely their reinforcements!"

"Fuck! Why can't we have reinforcements as well!?" Tigiris glances up, only to drop down again as a laser passes above his head. "Like, I don't know, all of the fucking Grigori!?"

"I've already requested reinforcements!" Ravenage summons a spear, only for it to be destroyed by the heavy barrage. "They'll be arriving in five minutes!"

"We have to hold out for five minutes!?" Airenal rolls to Ravenage's side as his snow mound is completely destroyed. "We'll be dead in one!"

"Optimistic thinking!"

"Fine! You'll be dead in one. The rest of us in two!" All of a sudden, the laser barrage stops, leaving nothing but holes in the snow and steam.

"...do you think they ran out of ammo?" Tigiris asks. He's clutching his shoulder in agony. Airenal immediately sprints over to perform first aid.

"...no." Ravenage peeks at the source of the barrage. In the steam, he can see a figure casually walking towards them. "That was only a taster." Ravenage summons a sword of light. "The real fight starts now."

"Kuh...fuck." Tigiris tries to stand up, but his shoulder immediately flares in pain. With a groan, he falls back to the ground. "I can't move."

"Shit." Ravenage glances at the figure. The steam prevented Ravenage from seeing clearly, but it seemed like the figure was still quite far away. "OK listen. Airenal, you take Tigiris and get as far away from here as possible. I'll hold off the laser dude for as long as possible, until the reinforcements arrive."

"But-!" Both Airenal and Tigiris open their mouths to argue, only for Ravenage to cut them off.

"No arguments! We don't have time! Just get away before the laser dude gets here-" A flash of light to Ravenage's left causes Ravenage to pause mid sentence. At the same time, a hand taps Ravenage on the shoulder.

"Laser dude? I have a name you know!" Ravenage slowly turns his head. Standing on his left is a boy no older than sixteen. With his yellow shades and white suit he wouldn't look out of place at one of the Grigori's strip clubs. But Ravenage knew better than to assume that.

"Really? What would that be?" Ravenage could tell what kind of person the boy was. The boy's smile gave it away.

He's a berserker. A being who lives solely for war. This is what the boy was.

"Blake. [Demon's Bane] Blake." Upon hearing those words, Ravenage feels his blood go cold. Three years ago, before the Kuoh treaty had been signed, when the 3 Great Powers had been fighting, Ravenage had fought against a Exorcist unit by the name of [Whirl].

Its member pool had consisted of the current [Joker] of the Angels, the current [Queen] of Hearts and a [Holy Sword] wielder. But there had been a 4th member of the unit.

A 13 year old boy with the ability to manipulate light.

Actually manipulate isn't the right word.

The boy didn't manipulate light, he ruled over light.

A master of light and thus the antithesis of Demons everywhere..

[Demon's Bane] Blake.

40 Grigori versus 4 Exorcists. In every possible way, the Grigori should have come out as the winners.

Ravenage was the only survivor.

"Oh? You seem to recognize my name." Blake pats Ravenage's shoulder again. "Seems like my actions from the war are still remembered."

"Genocide is quite difficult to forget." There was no other word for it. The deliberate slaughter of specific beings based on certain traits. In this case, anything supernatural. Demons, Angels, Fallen Angels, Grigori, Cryptids, Youkai. Anything you can name, Blake had probably killed at least once.

"Ahahahahaha. Genocide huh?" Blake laughs softly. "That's one way of putting it." Blake suddenly pats Ravenage's cheek. "I just remembered who you are. You're a member of [Ashwyrm] aren't you? Well, the only member if I think about it."

"You remember." Ravenage glances at where he had last seen Airenal and Tigiris. They had disappeared, no doubt running as fast as they could. "Yes, I'm the last member of [Ashwyrm]."

"Nice." Blake comments. "Though honestly...I couldn't care any less." Before Ravenage could say anything, Blake places his hand on Ravenage's face.

"[Light Brigade:Skirmish]."

Immediately, Blake's hand turns to light, blasting a hole in Ravenage's face and killing him.

As the corpse collapses to the ground, Blake turns towards where the two remaining Grigori had run off. "Running away is...useless." Blake points his finger in the direction of the Grigori. "[Light Brigade: Scout]."

A laser explodes out of his finger. Barely a second later, a gigantic explosion immediately engulfs Blake's vision.

Hearing the screams of agony from the remaining Grigori, Blake begins to leisurely walk towards their cries.


Swiss Alps.

"Fuck!" Airenal curses loudly. "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Tears are streaming down his face. His right arm is completely gone, the blast having cleanly amputated it. Luckily for Airenal, Tigiris, who had been on Airenal's back, had shielded him from the worst of the attack.

But at a price.

In front of Airenal, Tigiris is lying on the ground. From the waist down, everything had been blown off by the brutal attack. Airenal could see severe burns all over Tigiris's back and arms.

"Shut the fuck up and run!" Tigiris says, spitting out blood. "Death is certain for me. But not for you. Run and rendezvous with the reinforcements!" Tigiris begins to cough, each cough splattering his chest with blood. He had maybe minutes left.

"I-I can't!" Airenal summons a spear. "Estarot and Ravenage are dead! How can I leave you to die as well!?" Airenal stands up. "If I have to die, I'll die fighting."

"You-you fool." Tigiris, in spite of himself, smiles. "If-if you die here, who will tell the Grigori about what happened here? Who will warn them of this enemy?" Tigiris places his arm on the ground and slowly forces himself upright. "Go Airenal. Tell the Grigori about this threat. Live."

"But-"

"Go!" Airenal looks at Tigiris for a second, his eyes full of grief. Then, with a single fluid movement, Airenal opens his wings and kicks off into the air. "...that's it." Tigiris glances towards where Ravenage had made his last stand. In the distance, he could see a figure slowly making his way towards him.

Tigiris closes his eyes, remembering a lullaby he had heard when he was younger.

The Fallen Angels of God, the ones who betrayed Heaven's ways~

Forging their own path in the world~

Tigiris opens his eyes, to see a smiling teenager wearing a white suit standing in front of him. His yellow aviators hide his eyes, but Tigiris is sure they'd be smiling too.

"Are you the one who will kill me?" The boy nods his head. "Very well. But can I sing one last tune?" The boy tilts his head, as if considering his request. After about a second, the boy nods.

The Heavens above, Hell below, we fly in the centre~

Hated by the Angels, loathed by the Devils, we walk alone~

Humanity scorns us, removing us from their tales~

Perhaps one day, we'll fly again~

In the skies above Heaven~

"That's a nice lullaby." The boy comments. "[The Hope of the Fallen] right?"

"You-you're well informed." Tigiris coughs. His vision is turning blurry.

"I enjoy reading literature." The boy looks at the sky. "The poem is mentioned quite often in Grigori texts. The skies above Heaven~" The boy points upwards. "Is that a metaphysical realm beyond our reach? A false belief generated by [Hope]? Or is it an actual sky?" The boy looks down at Tigiris.

"..." Tigiris doesn't answer, having already passed away. The boy looks at the corpse for a moment, before sighing.

"I suppose I'll have to find out myself-" The boy peers into the distance. Roughly a kilometer away is the faint ouline of Airenal. The boy points his hand at the Fallen Angel.

"-when [Testament] tears down the Heavens."

The boy's hand begins to glow.

"[Light Brigade: Skirmish]."


Swiss Alps

The remaining soldiers, led by Unit 20, arrive at their destination. The snowy cliff-side has a 1000 meter drop. Normally, the soldiers would take a moment to admire the view.

But their attention is drawn to the numerous corpses littering the snow.

"Woah...what happened?" One of the soldiers approaches one of the corpses. "Shit!"

"What is it?!"

"His body...its like a fucking mummy!" Unit 20 bends down and observes one of the bodies. Sure enough, it looks as if something had drained the very life from the victim, leaving nothing but a hollow shell.

"Wait...there are burn marks here." One of the soldiers takes a small knife out of his pocket and removes a sliver of flesh. A scanner pops out of his helmet and begins to scan the skin. "Analyzing...analysis complete."

"DNA match...Margaret Salam...Looking up profile...She's a wanted Rogue Magician."

"Rogue Magicians? And here I thought our day couldn't get any worse."

"They're all Rogue Magicians. Sindred Halflax, Ramdin Portgaz..."

"Aren't those all big names?"

"Yeah. They're total bounty is insane. Ten digits." A chorus of whistles echo through the headsets.

"Think we can still claim them?"

"Maybe...Does anyone have any cases where we can store their heads?"

"All of you shut up!" Unit 20 glances around. He can't see anything, but something had just occurred to him. "Don't you think we should be more worried about what killed these magicians?"

"...shit."

"You think it might still be here?"

"...did you hear that?" All the soldiers spun around, their weapons trained on the source of the noise. Barely noticeable above the howling wind was a tune. If it wasn't for the sensitive listening equipment built into the soldier's helmets, it would have been impossible to hear.

"Fucking hell, it sounds like a little girl singing."

"You're joking right? This isn't a fucking B-rate horror movie!"

"I have to admit, it does sound like a little girl singing a lullaby."

"OK." Unit 20 could see a figure slowly approaching the group. "On my mark, we open fire."

"Got it."

"Roger."

"Let's kill the bitch!"

Unit 20 took a deep breath.

"1."

"2."

"3! Open fire!"

The soldiers immediately emptied their clips into the unknown figure. The sounds of gunfire echoed through the mountains for a good two minutes.

Nothing could have survived the brutal barrage of cold steel.


Grigori Headquarters

Sahariel glances at his monitor. About two seconds ago, an alarm had gone off, alerting him to the re-appearance of the insane holy energy. Since the reinforcements had just left to assist the team already up there, Sahariel had spent the past two hours or so trying to piece together exactly what had caused the spike. However, the previous spike had only lasted two seconds or so, which gave Sahariel virtually nothing to work with.

"This is..." Sahariel re-checks the current readings, before comparing them to similar readings he had from Slash Dog. "...it can't be." Sahariel immediately grabs the phone next to him.

There is no doubt about it.

The culprit of this fiasco has finally been revealed.

One of the strongest artifacts in existence.

Created by a glitch in the [System] of the Abrahamic God.

A Longinus.


So it looks like a Longinus has been found!

As well as the appearance of Blake, who, if you haven't guessed, is modeled after Kizaru from One Piece. Light based powers plus a suit and aviators? Immediate bad-ass character!

Review and Comment!

Daemon