Hi, everyone! It's been a long while, but I am in fact not dead! I'm assuming you all saw the chapter title/changed summary, so I might as well rip the bandaid off now. It's been a short journey(in terms of chapter count. Almost been a year since I published this story), but I've decided to bring Twilus' journey to a close here, at least in the DxD universe.

I've had a lot of time to think it over these past few months, and I've come to the conclusion that this story has the potential to stand on its own two feet apart from DxD. I'm planning to take some of the concepts and characters(all OCs for the most part with the occasional different take on a canon character) I had planned for this fic and create an original IP down the line.

Even so, I felt I owed you all more than just a disappointing cancellation announcement after being quiet for so long and so went through and finished up this final chapter. I'm a little nervous to see reactions to this one. Not because of the content(though I'll admit certain portions may be sloppy as I just wanted to get through this and move on) but because of where this chapter leaves off. This was originally going to serve as the first major turning point in the story, and as such there won't be any payoff for what goes down here.

While I'll be stepping away from Guardian Angel, I've got a new story(a Dragon Ball fic) that will be up a few hours after this chapter, so feel free to check it out after reading this if you're interested!

A huge thank you to everyone for your support up until now, and I hope to see many of you in the next project. With all that said, enjoy this bittersweet finale to Guardian Angel, and let me know your final thoughts in the reviews. I'll be open to answering any final questions/concerns through PMs.


Genesis Arc

Ch 6: Devilish Decisions

Twilus drove the shrieking harpy into the ground, his spear embedded into its spine as the grotesque bird-woman flailed wildly under him. He struggled to keep it pinned down with his foot, stabbing at the harpy again and again until it stopped moving. He stumbled off the corpse and wiped blood from his arms, taking a few moments to catch his breath.

How many points did that make now? Forty? Fifty? He'd lost count some time ago. After the initial battle with the hellhounds, Sephrin had decided it would be better to keep the scores secret until the end of the hunt.

A thick humid haze blanketed the area, courtesy of Maleia. He wiped sweat from his forehead. While not hot enough to burn, the cloud of steam obscured his surroundings, with only the illumination of his lightspear cutting through the fog, allowing him to make out the countless shadowed lumps of felled monsters around him.

The group of fallen had moved from place to place, slaughtering any wildlife unlucky enough to encounter them. This time it had been a flock of harpies, whose screams had attracted the attention of other creatures, several of whose bodies now littered the area.

Some species he recognized, others he didn't. Some had been brutally butchered, with bisected limbs and bloodied gashes or burns scoring their bodies. A couple here and there didn't sport a single wound even as the corpses slowly disintegrated. Apparently, Maleia's steam doubled as a toxin to creatures that were vulnerable to light.

Flashes of light shone in the distance as the chaotic sounds of battle echoed around him. The wind screeched as Ryleon tore through the battlefield, accompanied by the pained howls of their enemies and Zandrith's bloodlust-filled shouts. Waves crashed as Sephrin drowned his prey in floods of holy water, if they didn't boil alive first, that was. Maleia's steam might as well not even have been there for all the good it did at slowing down the competition.

Up above, he could make out the distant figure of Dohnaseek, eyes flicking across the battlefield as he scribbled in a notepad. How the older fallen was able to keep track of all the action was beyond Twilus, but as long as the man didn't fudge their numbers, he ultimately didn't care. Though, Twilus wouldn't complain if the man accidentally missed a kill here or there as long as they weren't any of his own.

That's enough of a break, he thought. Every second he wasted catching his breath was another potential kill for one of the others.

He flew through the fog, careful to maneuver around any trees and boulders as he searched out more opponents. The steam was infused with magic, making it difficult to differentiate auras and forcing him to rely on his normal senses to find more prey. Movement in the corner of his eye alerted him to a few large shadows in the distance. Lightspear ready, he pushed through the haze. The monsters didn't notice his approach, their attention focused solely on the lone green-haired fallen they surrounded.

Solaire waved his spear around like a fiery torch, trying to keep the monsters at bay. More than likely, his passive nature had played against him, allowing the monsters to slowly encircle him. Despite their supernatural abilities, these beasts were still just that— beasts, and would normally be tearing each other apart over territory. In this case though, they had been intelligent enough to realize who the real threats were, and had banded together against the group of fallen.

Twilus sailed over, decapitating the pair of harpies circling above the horde before landing behind Solaire, who blinked, clearly surprised to see him.

"Thanks for the backup," he said, shoulders slumping slightly in relief.

Twilus didn't respond, instead staring down the opposing monsters. He had just seen an opportunity for more points was all. If any of them had been in actual danger, then it was Dohnaseek's job to step in. A quick glance upward let Twilus see a curt nod from the older fallen.

"Oh! You seem pretty worn down," Solaire said. "Here, this should help a bit."

Twilus took brief notice of the golden glow in the corner of his vision before a surge of power filled him. He sighed in relief as Solaire's ability took effect, lessening the strain on his light reserves. The sharp burning in his lungs didn't waver though. Unfortunately, Solaire couldn't do anything about his endurance. Still, it would have to do for now.

Light renewed, he charged the opposition, throwing himself at the horde, with Solaire quickly springing into action behind him.

As they fought, the sounds of crashing waves drew closer. Up some ways above, Sephrin drowned his enemies with casual sweeps of his arms, not seeming the slightest bit winded.

Twilus frowned, swerving around the wide swing of a troll— a hulking creature of clay and stone— before calling out to Solaire.

"A little occupied!" Solaire called back, smacking aside a hellhound before sinking his spear through its skull. He gave Twilus a quick questioning glance. "What?"

Twilus nudged his head in Sephrin's direction before dodging another swing. "How come he hasn't used that second ability of his?"

Solaire gave him a slightly incredulous look, as if to say: 'you're asking that now of all times?' then sighed, turning his attention back to the horde. "Knowing Sephrin, he just doesn't feel pressured enough to use it. I guess I can't say I don't understand your curiosity. I've wondered about it a few times myself."

Twilus raised an eyebrow, shooting a few feathers at the horde. "You've never seen it before?"

"No, but again, Sephrin's never been the type to struggle much in fights. Actually, I think the most I've ever seen him on the defensive was, well… when you blinded him. Keep in mind that Ryleon and I joined the group a lot later. If you really want to know more, Maleia or Zandrith would be the ones to ask, but if they'd actually tell you anything..."

"So, basically, I shouldn't even bother," Twilus said with a scoff. Solaire chuckled awkwardly.

So some sort of last resort then? he thought as he scored another kill. He could definitely see Sephrin wanting to keep his other ability hidden for nothing other than some sense of dramatic flair, but… considering that the entire point of bringing Twilus along was to show just how far above him they were, he figured Sephrin would be itching to show it off.

Suddenly, he was yanked to the ground, a piercing pain shooting through his left leg. Twisting his head to the side, he noticed a large serpent with heads at both ends. One of the heads hissed at him, venom dripping from its maw, while the other currently had its fangs sunk deep into his leg.

He raised his spear to dispose of it, only for Solaire to yell out a warning as the troll from before swung at him again.

Shit. He quickly enfolded himself with his wings. This is going to hurt…

Before the crushing blow could land, the troll was blasted onto its back by a sudden torrent of water. Sephrin swooped down from above, jamming a sword right between the troll's eyes and sweeping out his other arm, washing the horde away in boiling waves.

"Getting sloppy, low-class?" Sephrin taunted. "If this is too much for you, you could always just call it quits here and wait with Dohnaseek while the rest of us finish up."

"I'm doing just fine," Twilus ground out, flaring light through his leg to burn away the venom before it could take effect. He steadied himself, hoping Sephrin wouldn't notice how exhausted he really was.

"Could've fooled me," Sephrin said, looking him up and down. "The scores will do all the talking. There's about ten minutes left to go. Try not to die till then."

Twilus growled, then his eyes widened. Ten minutes… That would make this group of monsters the last, as there wouldn't be enough time to search out another group. There would be no other chances. He rushed off to scrounge up as many kills as he could.

As much as Twilus hated to admit it, the longer the hunt had gone on, an ugly truth had become harder and harder to deny.

He was struggling.

While individually, the monsters they'd encountered had been far weaker than the stray, Twilus wasn't used to such long stretches of combat, especially against so many enemies. The constant moving from place to place, the frequent battles… Over time, it had all taken its toll.

It was more than just his dropping stamina however. He simply couldn't keep pace with the sheer offensive power of the other's holy abilities. Ryleon was simply too quick, Sephrin too overwhelming, Maleia too tricky, and even Zandrith, who had initially complained about the same thing, had quickly outpaced Twilus as well. While he'd managed to stay ahead of Solaire, that was more so due to the boy being a much more cautious fighter than the rest of them. He was sure that if Solaire had been more competitive, he could have left Twilus in the dust as well.

He couldn't keep up. He couldn't compete with them.

No. He shook his head desperately. That's exactly what they want you to think. Just focus on getting as many kills as possible.

Twilus threw himself at opponents with a reckless frenzy. He crashed into another harpy, wrestling it into the ground and forcing his spear through its neck, but not before a lucky kick managed to slice across his ribs. He just barely vaulted over a wall of flame, the heat licking at his skin, then chucked his spear at the offending hellhound.

He was knocked out of the air by a powerful gust of wind as Ryleon zipped by. The world spun for a few moments as Twilus hit the ground and rolled. He struggled to his feet with a grunt only to be shoved back down a moment later.

"Out of the way, weakling!" Zandrith shouted, charging in the same direction as Ryleon and vanishing into the fog. Twilus let loose a string of curses, his slowly clenching fingers digging trails in the dirt.

A large metallic bird swooped down at him from above. His arms flailed as steel talons gripped onto his wings, lifting him off the ground and tearing out large swathes of feathers as it flipped him onto his back. He struggled to ward it off with what was left of his wings as the bird tried goring him with its beak. Any lightspears he made shattered against its metal overcoat, and he hissed as a bronze beak penetrated through his right wing. The bird pulled back for another piercing lunge, and Twilus spread out his wings, catching the beak with both hands before it could gouge out his heart. With a haggard breath, he pried the beak open, pouring light into his hands and unleashing a large burst of energy into the bird's open mouth. The bird jerked backwards with a strangled squawk before collapsing, dead.

Twilus' chest rose and fell repeatedly as he laid on his back. He'd put too much energy into that last attempt, using up the last remnants of the surge of power Solaire had given him. He wouldn't even be able to repair his wings.

Another hellhound lurched out from the steam, swaying unsteadily as hacking coughs sent tremors through its body. Twilus dragged himself toward it by his elbows, trying to summon another spear, but no light would come to him.

A scythe cleaved through the fog as Maleia emerged from behind, taking the hound's head with it. She gave him a single glance, snorted, then receded back into the steam like a ghostly apparition.

More time… I just need a little more time…

And then, it was over. A sharp whistle rang from above, signaling the end of the hunt. The blanket of fog slowly faded away. He squeezed his eyes shut in frustration, sweat dripping down his forehead.

"And that takes care of that," someone said, landing next to him. Sephrin.

Twilus forced his eyes open as the sounds of flapping wings increased. Dohnaseek landed off to the side, sparing him only a single mildly concerned glance, while Solaire plopped down on a nearby rock, looking almost as exhausted as Twilus. The others surrounded him, their appearances in varying states of disarray, caked with blood, sweat, and grime, but they looked satisfied and none of them stumbled as they walked

Ryleon crouched down next to him, repeatedly jabbing an annoying finger into his cheek. Twilus scowled and tried biting down on the offending finger, but Ryleon simply zipped to his other side, poking at his other cheek.

"Oh man," Zandrith barked out a laugh as he prodded at Twilus' prone body with his foot. "Seeing him on the ground like this sure is nostalgic."

"If I recall, he was in this exact position when he said he was going to surpass us," Maleia added. "And yet, here we are again. Did he really expect anything to change just cause he got a bit more uppity?"

Twilus grit his teeth. Fueled by sheer spite, he forced himself to his knees, a spark of defiance still in his eyes, even if it was offset by the rest of him looking like a mess.

"And now for the moment of truth," Sephrin said, taking the notepad from Dohnaseek. He hummed as he looked over the scores, a pleased smirk forming on his face.

Twilus bit the inside of his cheek, a pit forming in his stomach as he waited for Sephrin to relay the results to everyone.

Suddenly, a piercing roar echoed in the distance. The group looked over to see what looked like a large winged lion with a scorpion tail soaring towards them. Its most unsettling feature was the human-like face it had, though no intelligence gleamed behind its dull, predatory eyes.

Dohnaseek clicked his tongue. "That's a manticore. Based on its size, it isn't fully grown, but it's still a step above what you all have faced thus far." He summoned a blue lightspear and stepped forward. "I'm sure you're all exhausted, and that thing isn't going to just let us fly away in peace, so leave this one to me."

"Now hold on," Sephrin said, waving him back. "I think we can take it. In fact, I think killing that thing will be the perfect way to cap things off. To spice things up, let's make it worth… twenty points."

Twilus eyes' widened as the others gasped. Twenty points… That was the highest amount Sephrin had ascribed to a single monster. Even with their abilities, Sephrin and Ryleon couldn't possibly have more than a twenty point lead over the others. Zandrith and Maleia both grinned, coming to the same conclusion. Whoever took this kill would most likely walk away the winner.

"However," Sephrin continued, "Twilus, Solaire, you two stay put."

"What?" Twilus protested. "How is that fair?"

Sephrin rolled his eyes. "Neither of you are in any condition to continue, especially you, low-class. I mean, you can't even fly anymore. If you dragged yourself out there as you are, you'd just get yourself killed. And even if that weren't the case, do you actually think you'd somehow manage to steal that kill from under us? Did you seriously not learn anything during all this?"

Twilus made to move in the direction of the manticore, attempting to scrounge up any dregs of light within, only to stumble to his hands and knees.

"See, it's just as I said." Sephrin. "Don't be a dumbass. Stay here."

Dohnaseek hummed uncertainly, scanning the group for a few moments before dismissing his spear and giving a gruff nod. "Very well. This works for me."

Sephrin shot back into the air, heading for the manticore with the other three following suit. Twilus wanted to follow after them, but his body refused to cooperate. Instead, all he could do was watch helplessly from the sidelines as the battle unfolded.

The group of fallen swooped and swerved around the manticore, launching attacks from different directions. Whereas weaker foes would have been instantly decimated, the manticore held on strongly, only suffering minor wounds and striking back with powerful swipes of its paws and flurries of venomous spines from its tail. Despite its size, the beast was agile too. Even so, the fallen were able to dance around its attacks and increased the intensity of their own. Waves of holy water crashed against the beast's hide as it was doused in clouds of steam. It roared in pain, swatting the attacks away. Zandrith tanked a powerful blow against his shield and was thrown back some distance, but quickly reengaged with a ferocious smile. Several gashes formed along the Manticore's body as Ryleon streaked by.

Dohnaseek whistled. "Those four are going to become real monsters when they grow up."

Twilus stared on, begrudgingly, in awe. While he had gotten glimpses of their strength over the course of the hunt, he had been too focused on his own fights to fully take it in. Weren't they even the slightest bit tired? How could they still be capable of fighting on this level? He knew that the natural abilities of those with holy powers were greater than normal fallen, but for the difference to be this much…

The manticore crashed into the ground, struggling to pick itself up. Zandrith, Maleia, and Ryleon all rushed in, each intent on being the one who finished it off. Sephrin, however, stayed back, glancing backwards and locking eyes with Twilus. Then, he raised one arm, light crackling to life in his palm and for a second, Twilus thought he was about to reveal his second ability. Instead, Sephrin simply winked at Twilus, before whipping a perfectly normal lightsword at the monster. The sword flashed through the air, impaling itself into one of the beast's eyes before the others could reach it. Sephrin whistled, and the other fallen quickly but regretfully fell back. The manticore thrashed, roaring in agony as the lightsword started to glow brighter, and Twilus finally understood.

The sword detonated, blowing the manticore's head apart in an explosion that was much larger than anything Twilus had ever produced. Sephrin gave Twilus another smirk, this one much more mocking than usual. The message was clear. Your little light trick isn't special. We can do it too. You've lost the only potential edge you had over us.

Twilus' head dipped down in defeat. Of course they knew the lightburst too. Why wouldn't they? If the normal class had begun to teach it, why hadn't he considered the possibility that the holy user class would as well?

Twilus was still stewing over his oversight as the others returned. Seprhin was as smug as usual, even moreso, actually, while the others grumbled about failing to secure the twenty points.

"And finally, the moment of truth," Sephrin said. "Dohnaseek, if you would? Oh, and you can leave me for last."

The gruff older fallen nodded, whipping out the notebook as the others crowded around him in anticipation.

"Me first, old man!" Zandrith demanded, causing Dohnaseek to grumble something about "ungrateful brats." He nodded anyways, clearing his throat.

"Very well. Zandrith, you racked up sixty-eight points."

Zandrith grunted. "Damn. I managed to nab at least seventy last time."

Dohnaseek turned to the next in line. "Maleia, you tallied sixty-five."

"Hah, suck it!" Zandrith whooped, pumping his fists as Maleia clicked her tongue, grumbling under her breath.

"Ryleon. Eighty-three." The boy grinned in triumph at Zandrith and Maleia.

"Forty-two points for Solaire," Dohnaseek continued.

"Twilus," Dohnaseek said, causing him to gulp. "Fifty-three points."

Twilus' shoulders sagged in disappointment.

"And finally, a hundred and seven for Sephrin."

The scores sunk sighed. So, in the end, even if had miraculously managed to kill the manticore, it wouldn't have made a difference. He still would have lost.

"Do you get it now, low-class?" Sephrin asked. "Are you finally realizing just how hopelessly outclassed you really are? You're persistent, I'll give you that. But that's all you have. No matter what you think, no matter what you try, there's simply a fundamental difference between us that can't be overcome."

Twilus looked away, the words piercing his heart. His eyes drifted to the manticore's scorpion tail, which had been severed at some point during the battle. The carapace exoskeleton reminded him of the stray from last night.

That's right. I killed a stray devil. That's much more impressive than this. This… This doesn't prove anything.

They could've killed it as well, and much more efficiently than you, a treacherous part of his mind whispered. They wouldn't have struggled like you did.

He smothered the thought. That one victory was all he had now. He wouldn't let them take it too.

Sephrin let out a sigh, turning away from the group and remaining quiet for some time before speaking. "Dohnaseek, how much time left before we're expected to head back?"

"Around an hour and a half, give or take," Dohnaseek answered.

Sephrin hummed in thought. "Should be enough then," he muttered, then turned to face the group again. "Seeing as we still have some time left, do you guys want to head there?"

The others looked at Sephrin in surprise. Twilus, still sulking over yet another loss at their hands, was only half-listening.

"Uhh… Is that really a good idea?" Solaire asked.

"Yeah, Sephrin," Maleia added, motioning to Twilus. "We have a tag-along, remember?"

"Well, seeing as how Zandrith nearly blurted it out earlier, I figure we might as well show him ourselves rather than risk him piecing it together on his own. If you're worried about him ratting us out, he should know what to expect by now if he does. But… I doubt he will. It's not every day you get a chance like this, afterall."

"If you say so…" Maleia trailed off, still sounding hesitant.

"What… What do you mean?" Twilus asked, his attention slowly shifting to Sephrin.

Sephrin grinned. "Have you ever wanted to see Devil territory?"


After resting for a short while, Sephrin had Solaire give Twilus another small surge of energy, just enough so that he could fly again, then led the group east. As they got farther and farther from fallen territory, the sky began to shift from the deep purple hue he was accustomed to to more of an indigo blue. The artificial moon also grew in size, growing more reminiscent of the one in the human world as they approached Devil domain.

As they flew, Twilus was still mulling over the recent revelation he'd just learned. Apparently, at the end of each of their hunts, Sephrin's group, under Dohnaseek's supervision, would travel to the edge of devil territory and… relax? According to Sephrin, since they weren't actually entering devil territory they technically weren't breaking any rules. Even so, Twilus couldn't believe that they'd been doing something that risky so casually. No, wait, that was actually the exact sort of thing he'd expect from them.

Well, it wasn't like he had room to talk. In a way, this wasn't that much more extreme than what he did most nights.

A small part of him was paranoid that this was all some elaborate ruse to stab him in the back and leave him to the devils, but a few things didn't add up. For one, the group looked way too calm, which only lended credibility to them having done this before. And as petty as they could be, Twilus didn't think they would resort to straight-up murder. Sure, there was that time Sephrin had nearly killed him in the arena, but that had been a heat of the moment situation. This would be far too… premeditated. Something that he didn't think either Solaire or Dohnaseek would just calmly go along with.

Also, if they really wanted him dead, there was no need to go all the way to Devil territory. They could just as easily have left him for dead in the wilds and it would've had the same result.

A few miles ahead, an enormous barrier— larger than any he had ever seen— spread out over the horizon. Even from this distance, he could sense the sheer amount of magical power radiating off the iridescent dome. As they got closer, he snapped out of his momentary awe and began to cautiously scan the environment, picking up an odd detail.

"No guards?" he asked. "There's no way it can be as simple as flying right up to it, right?"

"We thought the same thing, too, the first time," Solaire said, "but there's really no one else around. That barrier is all the security they need. It's so powerful, I bet only Cadres would be able to get through."

Twilus nodded, but his eyes continued flickering about warily just in case.

Sephrin led them down into a dense grove of large trees cut off from the rest of the forest by the barrier wall. He motioned to Dohnaseek, who nodded back before flying out of sight above the upper canopy as the group perched among some of the lower branches.

"The first time we did this," Sephrin explained, "we camped down here to hide from any potential scouts. After that, it just sorta became our go-to spot."

Twilus gave him a look. "How many times have you done this exactly?"

Sephrin smirked. "Enough to be confident that it's safe as long as we don't try crossing the barrier. We always have Dohnaseek keep an eye out just in case, but trust me when I say nothing's gonna happen, so calm down already."

Still sulking from earlier, Twilus pursed his lips at seeing that same damned smirk from always, then turned back towards the barrier. Past the shimmering screen, there was mostly more rough terrain, though he could pick out a few small towns in the distance and thin brown lines running between them that could only be roads. The subtle hum of the barrier filled his ears and he let out a breath. As he watched, he began to understand why the others liked coming here. Despite the possibility of danger, the whole experience was strangely soothing. It was hard to believe that only a few hundred kilometers before him, scores of enemies inhabited those quaint little villages. For the moment, the stinging sensation of loss was forgotten.

He shifted his attention back to the barrier itself, wondering just how much magic went into keeping the spell alive. He descended off the branch to get a closer look.

"I wouldn't go any further if I were you," Sephrin warned, landing behind him, the others following after a quick beat. "Zandrith, show him."

"Right," Zandrith quickly created a spear and tossed it at the barrier. Rather than bounce off or shatter harmlessly upon contact, as was the norm with other defensive barriers, the barrier seemed to eat the spear, pulling it inside and disintegrating it before spitting out a burst of demonic power, scorching the ground before it.

Unnerved, Twilus stepped back. He hadn't been planning to actually touch the barrier, but… if he had… The thought made him shudder.

"And that's why there are no guards," Solaire said. "If I had to guess, only devils can pass through unharmed. Anything else would just be disintegrated."

"Ha!" Zandrith barked. "Those damn devils think they're so safe inside this little bubble of theirs. It's only a matter of time before we pop it and drain them out like the puss they are."

"You'd be all but asking for another war there," Maleia chimed in.

"Well, maybe it's high time for one," Zandrith said. "Graduation's right around the corner. With things as they are now, we'll probably just get assigned to guard some random outpost in the middle of nowhere. Screw that!"

"Probably…" Maleia said, "But at least we'll finally be allowed to go on stray hunts."

Zandrith scoffed. "That might be enough for you, but I want to see some real action. To fight against the devils and the Church head-on and finish what our ancestors started!"

"We don't have the numbers for that, Zandrith," Solaire spoke up hesitantly. "If we went to war now, we'd be at a major disadvantage. That's why Lord Azazel doesn't want to do anything hasty. We're biding our time until we can fully recuperate."

Zandrith sneered. "Is that what you think? If you ask me, Lord Azazel is just a coward!"

"Zandrith," Sephrin said with a sharp edge to his voice. "I hope you realize just how serious an offense insulting Lord Azazel is."

"Oh, come on! It's not like anyone else is around to hear. We can say what we really think. You all agree with me, right?"

Solaire said nothing while Maleia shifted awkwardly in place, not making it clear whether she agreed or not. Ryleon made a "so-so" motion with his hand. Sephrin's glare intensified.

"Think about it, guys! The Satans were dead and God was weak. We were on the cusp of victory, but what did Azazel decide to do? Retreat! That's what! Like, are you fucking kidding me? All we had to do was push a bit further, and the war would've been ours. But no, now we have to play this stupid waiting game and dance around each others' toes all the time. We should've wiped them out when we had the chance!"

"When you put it like that…" Maleia said, rubbing her arm.

"I think it's about time Lord Azazel stepped aside," Zandrith continued. "He may have been a great strategist during the war, but he's not much of a leader. If someone else were in charge, someone who understands what the Fallen really want, things would be different."

"That's enough, Zandrith!" Sephrin ordered, summoning a blade of light and leveling it at the loudmouth. "I won't stand for you insulting our leader."

Zandrith stepped back, raising his hands. "Ok, ok, sorry. Excuse me for having an opinion. Seriously, I thought you of all people would agree with me."

Sephrin lowered his blade and looked away, his face twisting uncomfortably as conflicting emotions ran through his eyes. "...Just watch what you say."

No one said anything more, and the tense atmosphere soon gave way to awkward silence. After a short while, Zandrith turned towards him. "Hey, what about you?"

Twilus blinked in surprise.

Sephrin huffed. "You're asking the low-class?"

"Yeah, why not? I'm curious," Zandrith looked at Twilus. "You agree with me, don't you? You'd rather continue the war effort too, right?"

Twilus looked to the side, humming in thought. "I wouldn't go so far as to call Lord Azazel weak or a coward, but… I wouldn't mind going to war. Being able to fight on the frontlines would be the perfect opportunity to earn some prestige."

Sephrin barked out a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Twilus asked.

"You really just don't learn, do you?" Sephrin said, shaking his head. "How many times do I have to say it? Someone like you would only be canon fodder to the enemy. The monsters we fought today were child's play. If you struggled to keep up against them, there's now way you would stand a chance in hell against devils. They'd slaughter you."

Twilus crossed his arms. "I'd do a lot better than you think." 'Since I've actually killed a devil and all,' he wanted to say.

Sephrin rolled his eyes. "Of course you'd say that. You're a thickheaded idiot that refuses to accept reality even when it's slapping him across the face."

Twilus bit his tongue. He nearly blurted out that he had killed a devil. That would have been a bold claim to make. One that would need proof. Proof he couldn't afford to provide, lest he end up unraveling all his secrets. As much as he wanted to shut them up, to finally, just once, get some kind of victory over them, over him, the fear of giving them such leverage over him was enough to keep his tongue at bay.

Mostly.

"If I fought a devil, I'm absolutely confident I could win," he said.

Sephrin snorted. "Oh, hear that? He's absolutely confident. All right then, why don't you try it, low-class?"

Twilus' jaw jerked. "Huh?"

"Sure, sure," Sephrin said with a grin, waving an arm toward the distant villages. "I mean, there's plenty of devils right over there. Why don't you go test your luck against them? Of course, you'd have to get through that barrier first, but since you're absolutely confident and all, go ahead. See what happens."

"Don't give him any ideas, Sephrin," Maleia said. "He's just stupid enough to actually try it."

"Hah, well maybe the dumbass would actually learn that way," Zandrith chimed in, with Ryleon nodding in agreement.

"Can't exactly learn a lesson when you're dead…" Solaire muttered.

The usual four chuckled amongst themselves. Despite the tension from earlier, it seemed they would always be able to come together to make fun of him. As always, they just assumed Twilus was being a delusional hothead again. Even so, none of them were prepared for the next few words he would utter.

"I'll do it."

All eyes snapped back to him.

"Are you braindead?" Sephrin asked incredulously after a moment. "It was a joke. Don't tell me you're actually considering attempting to force your way through the barrier. Even you can't be that delusional. You'd just end up a charred corpse."

"I kinda wanna see that," Ryleon whispered.

Twilus shook his head. "Not the barrier. I only said that if I fought a devil, I would win."

Sephrin raised an eyebrow. "...What? You have another way of getting to the devils in mind? If you're thinking of waiting out here for one to miraculously exit the barrier then sorry, but we don't have that sort of time. We have to head back to Dudael soon."

Zandrith stepped forward, grinning. "Now hold on, this is starting to get interesting. I say we take the low-class up on his little challenge. What exactly are you suggesting?"

Sephrin shot Zandrith a withering glare, though it seemed to go unnoticed.

"Devil ashes," Twilus said, a confident grin creeping onto his face. "That should be proof enough. Give me some time and I'll bring back some devil ashes. How does that sound?"

"As if," Maleia said. "Even if you did somehow manage to get ahold of some ashes, how would we know you were actually the one responsible? You could just bribe an older fallen to give you the remains of a stray hunt or something."

"Actually…" Solaire spoke up hesitantly. "If the kill was recent, some of his light would still be traceable in the ashes."

Twilus' expression turned smug. "See, then there's no issue."

Sephrin's eyes narrowed, unnerved by Twilus' sudden confidence. "You still haven't mentioned exactly how you plan to get those ashes."

"Does it really matter?" Twilus said. "This was your idea in the first place. Unless… you want to take back what you said?"

Sephrin's eyes subtly flickered to the others, and he grimaced before covering it up with a scoff. "You're full of shit, but all right, low-class. We'll play it your way. You have a week. I look forward to hearing how you fail pitifully. For now, though, we're done here."

At Sephrin's signal, the others took into the air, heading up to meet with Dohnaseek.

"Guys, this is a really bad idea. What if he actually tries something?" Solaire asked.

"I wouldn't worry too much," Maleia said. "He's full of hot air. Once he cools down the little nothing will completely lose his nerve."

"Ooh, we should make a bet on how long it takes him to give up," Ryleon suggested.

Once they were out of range, Sephrin roughly grabbed Twilus by the arm.

"Frankly, I have no idea what's going through your head right now," Sephrin whispered harshly. "but for your own sake I hope you really are full of shit. If you do something stupid and get yourself killed, your blood won't be on my hands, got it?"

"Oh, so now you're worried about me?" Twilus taunted. It felt great to be able to do that for once.

Sephrin drew his lips into a thin line, then scoffed before brusquely spinning around and ascending into the air after the others. "Whatever."

Twilus watched him go then turned back to the devil barrier and chuckled to himself. As if he would have to resort to such reckless measures at all when there was a perfectly usable pile of left-over devil ashes already waiting for him in the human world. As soon as he was back home, he would set out to retrieve them. He would hold on to them for a few days— having them ready so early would be too suspicious— then lord it over the group, and they would be none the wiser about his little training expeditions.


Of course, things could never be that straightforward and easy for him.

As soon as the group had gone their separate ways upon returning to Dudael, Twilus had confidently rushed back to the human world to collect the stray's remains.

Only to find absolutely nothing.

All the signs of battle had been there, from the torn up soil to the scorched remnants of blown-apart trees. But no ashes. It hadn't even been a day since he killed the stray! Could they really have scattered to the wind that soon?

Spurred on by panic, he had combed the nearby woods for the next three hours, searching for even the smallest trace of the ashes, but found nothing. Eventually, he had to accept the truth, and had dejectedly returned to the Underworld empty-handed, trudging into his room at the orphanage and collapsing onto his bed.

How could I be so stupid! Why didn't I think to keep them as a trophy or something? Of course they were going to get blown away just laying there!

And all after that big show he'd put on in front of Sephrin and the others. He'd been so smug, so confident that he had finally gotten one up on them. Why couldn't he have just kept his mouth shut? He dreaded the next time he saw them. He could already hear the taunting.

He grit his teeth. No. He— He still had time. He could come up with something. What if… what if he killed another devil? He'd already killed one after all, and it hadn't even been that difficult. Surely he could do it again if given the chance. He'd basically said as much to Sephrin with his little bet.

Another stray then? He'd been going to the human world for months though, and that was the only one he'd ever encountered. And with so little time until the deadline, it was unlikely another would just waltz into his barrier like that again. He had no idea where to begin tracking one down either, so unless he wanted to aimlessly wander the human world hoping to get lucky, then a stray was out of the question.

I'll just have to go someplace where there's guaranteed to be devils. But… The image of the devil barrier flashed through his mind, how easily it had devoured Zandrith's light, and what it could do to him. He gulped, then shook his head. No, he wouldn't even think about it. He sighed. Another dead end it seemed.

He slumped further into his bed, eyes drifting aimlessly around the room before eventually settling on his desk. The homework assignment from earlier lay there. He frowned. He'd have to get around to finishing that at some point. He wasn't in the mood at the moment, but it really shouldn't take too long once he got around to it. Just a little more research on different territories of the Underworld and he should be done.

Territories…

He sat up suddenly, an idea striking him.

Wait a minute, there are Devil territories in the human world, aren't there?

He scrambled off his bed, rushing over to his bookcase and pulling out a geography textbook on the human realm. Laying it on his desk, he flipped it open and scanned through the table of contents until he found what he was looking for.

Appendix E— Known Supernatural Territories: Biblical Factions (pg. 866).

He leafed through to the indicated page and was greeted with a standard map of Earth, sprinkled with little 2D pins. A legend on the side of the map clarified the meanings of the pins. Pins with black wings attached to them indicated Fallen bases, while pins with white wings represented Church territory. Additionally, Devil territories were denoted by red pins with bat wings.

As expected, most of the pins were clustered together in Europe and the Americas, as supernatural beings tended to congregate wherever their respective mythologies had the most influence, which in this case was wherever Christianity was the most prevalent.

This is it, he realized with growing excitement. Since humans traveled in and out of these territories daily, devils couldn't risk setting up barriers like the one in the Underworld. He could sneak into one of these territories, kill a devil, then sneak back out with his prize in hand. But which one to choose…?

A few single territories dotted the map here and there, completely separated from the rest. One of those would be best, as there would be a comparatively low number of devils there so he wouldn't have to worry about being swarmed.

One of the isolated pins, different from the others, caught his eye. It had a pair of wings attached like the rest, but one was a bat wing and the other an angel wing. The pin hovered over a large island country on the eastern side of the map. Japan. That was Shinto territory, wasn't it?

He glanced at the legend. Near the bottom, next to an identical image of the pin, was a small asterisk denoting another page number. Curious, he turned to the page and started to read.

Despite its relatively small size, the text read, Kuoh Town, Japan, has the distinct feature of being the only shared territory between Devilkind and the Church. This was a condition both factions had to accept as per agreement with the Shinto faction in order to set up residence in Japan, likely as an attempt to limit biblical influence there.

That made sense. While you technically couldn't outlaw the spread of other beliefs in your territory, several factions would take certain measures to prevent the growth of competition. By locking the Devils and the Church into one area, the two sides would be too preoccupied worrying about what the other was doing to really establish control in the area.

This could work. If he could infiltrate the town, he could locate and kill one of the resident devils, then bolt before anyone knew what was happening. Once the devils realized one of their own was missing, they would just assume the exorcists were responsible. The Church would take the fall for his crime, and Twilus would leave scott free with his prize in hand.

He glanced at a small calendar on his wall and hummed. Tomorrow was Sunday. During the school week, classes would take up most of the day, leaving him only the afternoon to search. It would be better to go during the weekend, early in the day to give himself more time to search while the Sun was still out. That left tomorrow as his best chance.

He licked his lips nervously. Could he really go through with this? What he was planning on doing was highly illegal, even by Grigori's standards. Killing a devil in their own territory could be seen as an act of war. If he screwed up, he would end up in a lot of trouble. Or dead.

Maybe I shouldn't do this…

The jeering faces of Seprhin's group phased through his mind, causing him to purse his lips in displeasure. Strangely enough, it was the only one who wasn't jeering— Solaire— whose face stood out the most. Twilus remembered his warning.

'Too much ambition can be dangerous.'

He took a breath and steeled his resolve, his mind made up. Taking risks was what had gotten him this far. If he truly wanted to make his dreams a reality, he couldn't start playing it safe now. If each step on his journey to the top was to be a little more precarious than the last, then so be it.

Whatever it takes… Watch out devils of Japan. Here I come.


So… yeah. Kuoh was the big twist. Combine that with the story summary, and I'm sure many of you are piecing together what that would have implied had we gone forward from here. Definitely one of the endings of all time.