Chapter five
"I know who you are. You are a shadow of great warriors past. A mongrel, made out of battlefield leavings. Do not sully this moment by pretending to have a name that is worth remembering. Because I surely will not, come tomorrow."
Attributed to 'name redacted' millennium unknown.
Italy Vatican City 2010 M 3
Irina's entire body was in pain. Another day of training had ended, her life had been nothing but pain since leaving Kuoh Japan.
The pain had begun when she and her family had been awoken forcefully by the shock wave that had come from an enormous explosion. Her mother had held her trying to calm Irina down and her father had immediately begun to try and find out what had happened. Fifteen minutes later the tv had been turned on and the news channel they had opened was reporting that a bomb of some kind had gone off in one of the residential districts of the city, that had almost immediately afterwards been corrected and it was now a gas main that was in disrepair had suddenly exploded and taken with it one and a half blocks of houses and apartment buildings. Her father and mother immediately burst into prayer and Irina followed them. None of them had been able to sleep for the rest of the night.
School had been canceled for the rest of the week and Irina had been too scared to leave her mom's side. Her dad being a pastor for the small Christian community in the city had immediately rallied members of the congregation to help provide food clothing and an exceptionally large chunk of their church budget to aiding survivors. Irina had been in her room when her world had fallen apart. Her father had returned home late that night exhausted from trying to be a good person. However instead of greeting her mother and her. Touji Shidou had gone upstairs to the master bedroom put a blue sock on the door that was meant not to disturb him because of work and made a call. Half an hour later he had come down the stairs as the rest of the family was eating dinner and had come up to his daughter and hugged her so tightly that Irina thought he was going to break her back.
"What's wrong daddy?"
Her father kept squeezing her for five more minutes without saying anything before he finally replied."
My little saint. I am so very sorry."
"Daddy you're scaring me what is it?"
"Your friend Issei and his family are with the lord now."
Those words had made Irina's blood run colder than the river styx.
"Ise… he. He is dead?"
"Yes. The Hyoudou's house was near the center of the explosion last night. I am sorry."
Irina had let out a scream that deafened the house. Her mother had immediately gotten to her knees praying to God that he would watch over the souls of their daughter's friend's family. They had been pagans, but no one deserved to get blown to pieces in their very own home. Irina had fled up the stairs still screaming and had locked herself in her room. She would not come out again until four days later. Her first friend was dead, the knight in shining armor who had saved her was gone. Her first crush the future she had imagined where the two of them were married happily together was now a dead dream.
When she had returned to school she learned that Akio had also suffered from what the people of the city were calling the night of red fire. Akio had lost his dad and had taken the news of their best friend's death even harder. The trauma broke their deep friendship and when Irina was told by her parents that they were moving to England, she had just nodded along with the decision and obeyed them.
In a way the move had preserved her sanity. The proximity to old and now bitter memories had lessened considerably after moving to England, she had taken solace in lessons about swordsmanship when she learned that Issei had as her father put it." been a natural with the blade." So, she had engrossed herself in learning everything she could about sword play, when she held her sword she could almost always hear her friend's voice playing back the good memories they had experienced together.
It was this dedication to the sword that had led her father to enroll her in the Protestant churches exorcist school. She had been both amazed and horrified to learn that the lord had been very real and that things like devils and dragons were also very real. She had jumped into the other side with a dedication that humbled her fellow trainees and the trainers because she had remembered what Issei had said to her when they had been alone together.
"My dream is to protect and help people regardless of where they come from and or what they believe in."
So, she had fought for his dream, it had driven a small wedge in her family because of how extreme her parents were about only helping Christians. She remembers the look on Issei's face when they had gotten like that with his and Akio's families. It brought her great shame to know that she had been like that too. The lord taught humanity to love thy neighbor, and that was something she had not been doing. She had changed everything about herself where once she had carried the fanaticism of purity. Now she fought for all humans regardless of their beliefs.
Her faith and beliefs had spread to a whole new generation of exorcists and that had caused an uproar among the higher ups, but she had kept her faith even when those of the church tried to theologically talk her into accepting their beliefs. She would not budge because her faith was now a fortress of strength and would never be something on which she would compromise. She had been close to being drummed out of the school, her opponents were powerful and to her dismay her parents had sided with them against her, the wedge had now become a valley. She had been saved by a surprising source.
The great seraph Gabriel had come to speak to her. Her a lowly pariah nearing the edge of excommunication. Gabriel had told her that she was what exorcists should be, people willing to fight for the good of all children of the lord.
Gabriel had taken her from the school dungeons where she had been held after refusing to change. As they were leaving Irina had seen her parents, they had been talking to one of the other pastors at the school and when Gabriel had passed by them with her in tow her parents had fallen to their knees in reverence to the angel and were greatly shocked to see their estranged daughter with the angel. They had kept walking and Irina had never looked back. That was three years ago.
Irina flopped onto her bed because the pain from the training session with her partner had been extra hard today when said partner came into their shared quarters. Her partner was just as tired as Irina. The other part of the team that Gabriel had formed three years ago was a young woman with blue hair with a small stipe of green over her right eye. Xenovia Quarta came just like Irina had from a family of the faithful, Irina was a protestant while Xenovia was a proud catholic.
That had put the team in a small bind primarily by Xenovia, but Irina soon saw why Lady Gabriel had partnered her up with the other teen. It was to make the next wielder of druandal into a better person. Lady Gabriel had explained to both of them the ideals of the peace faction of heaven that the lady led, Irina had fallen in love with the picture that the angel had painted.
A world of peace where they did not have to kill and destroy each other, but rather build and cooperate. Irina immediately knelt before the seraph when she had finished explaining their goals and Irina had sworn her blade and soul to building this dream. Surprisingly, Xenovia had knelt just as quickly pledging her holy sword to the cause. When Lady Gabriel had departed to do some paperwork up in heaven the two young women had looked at each other, it had been the blue haired teen who had broken the unease.
"I had heard tales of you, saint of naïveté. The exorcist who was willing to accept excommunication and yet continued to follow the lord in all things."
She paused before looking at the brown haired girl straight in the eyes.
"The others call you a heretic in all but name, but after the display before me I can say now that they are wrong. You are no heretic but a woman of God. A new Joan of Arc. I would be honored to fight alongside you as teammates."
The ice was now broken, the wall had cracked and crumbled. They were now the closest of friends pushing each other to greater heights in the service of God the Almighty. She had found her new family. And that had greatly lessened the pain.
City of Kyoto Japan 2011 M 3
Issei was on the hunt, here in this urban jungle surrounded by the masses of humanity living, breathing, and working each day to move their lives forward in whatever direction they wanted to go in. The secret war that had been brewing in the shadow, the war that would be for the sakes of those around him living lives of blissful ignorance, the war that had been made an undeniable reality nearly a decade ago. The child he had been had transformed into a young man who was nothing but a stranger to those around him. He was hunting for the shadows; they would fall eventually.
At the beginning of the year Issei had begun full combat operations, he had journey back to Kyoto and after entering the youkai quarter had begun looking for mercenary work. He was laughed at just like when he had been young and trying to earn money to live off of. It did not discourage him at all. Because the skeins of fate had shown themselves to him several paths to an end, the universe it seemed loved to cause despair even if the tumors of unreality were not present. He had been in a bar being laughed at again by the locals when a proclamation was made that jolted the locals into silence.
Lady Yasaka's daughter had been kidnapped.
Issei had calmly made his way through the mob of youkai and exited the bar. Once out on the street Issei let his psychic ability wander through the thoughts and emotions of the city's inhabitants and he slowly zoomed in on a tiny mind that was shaking in pure fear and terror. He gently touched the soul that was quivering in a filthy dirty cage located in a dark forsaken room in some building in Kyotos heart. The young teenager stiffened and then felt completely and utterly at peace, more so than she had ever felt before. It was almost as if she was in a blanket held closely to her mother's chest the peace and serenity that the teen had remembered from when she was but a small kit. A voice entered her mind and gently said.
"Help is coming. Do not panic and know no fear."
Issei followed the Psychic trail of Kunou and made his way through the city towards her location. Daliea was in his armor's vox caster filling in the details of the building the young teen was held in. It was a four-story apartment complex that was for a reason not known to the neighborhood it resided in empty. No one asked why it was like that, they just accepted it as fact. When Issei got to the building he immediately noticed the presence of wards that gently made the minds of the mundane accept the building's emptiness. He approached the back entrance and did not see any guards, so he opened the door and entered.
Inside the complex it was damp and cold. Issei stretched his senses again and found that his objective was in a fourth basement that was definitely not in the building's official layout. He sees with his gold eyes a door covered in magic symbols and he makes his way to it. With a psychic battering ram, he blew the door off its hinges and started the descent.
He was met halfway down the flight by his first opponent. A medium height Oni who had went for their katana ready to kill the intruder. The Oni's body fell down the stairs a hole in its head where a las shot had carved its way out. The Oni had two comrades at the bottom both tengu, they looked at the body in shock. It was the last mistake either would ever make. A sound of roaring fury came down on the first tengu bisecting the bird in half. The other tengu looked on in increasing horror and then tried to run, a warp lightning bolt slammed into the retreating tengu and its body collapsed to the floor a smoking hole clear for all to see in the center of mass. Issei walked forward past the newly made corpses not looking at them.
Thus, he continued butchering youkai as he went. They were just foot soldiers nothing special about them. The only warrior he had a hint of trouble with was a female tengu that was wearing the official guard uniform of Lady Yasaka's people. Issei knew already who had planned this kidnapping. A large number of youkais in Kyoto were unhappy with the progressive policies that Yasaka had been advocating for in the past twenty five years and the resentment had slowly built up and then boiled over earlier today.
The tengu lunged forward her blade going for a quick and clean kill that would stop this rescuer in their tracks, the blade being tengu steel further enhanced by her magic. The blade was parried by the growling weapon of her opponent and just as she was preparing to make another strike, the left hand of the intruder came up with a weird gun of all things, there was a snap hiss by the gun and the tengu warrior fell to the ground a clean shot made against her head. The red light had punched through the helm she had been wearing and as Issei passed her body the part of her face that still looked like a face was in clear shock.
Thus, the carnage continued down the next flight of stairs and level. Halfway to Kunou, Issei had continued forward never once knowing fear. It had been near the room in front of Kunou's holding cell that Issei met the commander of this group. He was a massive tengu garbed in the armor of Yasaka's personal guard. His feathers grey with age, his eyes were a piercing black that bore holes of hate at Issei. The tengu drew a naginata and marking him a clear veteran of war he did not make small talk rather he attacked.
The spear blade lunged, and Issei immediately parried the blow. Another strike followed and this time the blade made contact with Issei's right pauldron. A look of triumph in the bird's eyes turned to surprise when the spear did not cut through the rescuer's armor and claim the limb. The bird's surprise was pressed onto by Issei the chainsword roared in glee for blood and it was only the tegu's age and combat experience that saved his life, instead he only lost three fingers on his left hand. Blood gushed from the wound painting the floor blue. The tengu in retaliation for the injury increased his speed with magic. Blow after blow from both warriors were exchanged neither giving the slightest hint of mercy. The blood has stopped flowing from the tengu and he despite his age and wound was not tiring. The dual continues. Another strike hit Issei's leg this time the naginata cut into the carapace legging if ever so slightly. Issei then used his check mate, drawing on the sea of souls, Issei drew forth from the warp a lightning storm that hit the tengu full force sending him flying into the wall as electricity danced across his body. Issei followed up on the move with a chop that took the tengu's hands.
The bird slid down the wall and to the floor. He was broken and defeated. The old tengu looked into the green eyes of his foes helm and seeing the end tiredly sighed and spoke.
"Make it quick. Let me die with honor."
Issei looked at the bird before giving the slightest of nods. The chainsword cut the warrior's head off.
Kunou was scared. She had head lots of loud noises coming from the room in front of her and while it was not the crippling anxiety and fear from before she was frightened, was this the man whose voice had calmed her down? Or was this the start of a new nightmare? The door opened and a tall figure entered the room. On his hip was a strange gun and on his back was a sword though the teen kitsune could not see or make a hint of it. The man's face was covered by a helm with glowing green eyes that scared Kunou before the figure made his way forward towards her, she took a step back and recoiled this person was going to hurt her she knew it. Where was the one who had promised to save her?! Nothing happened until Kunou opened her eyes again and what she saw, she could only describe the face on the figure before her as perfect.
His face was carved in such a way that it seemed to be made from marble, he was handsome to a level that Kunou would never have thought possible for a human, his golden eyes held such vast and deep life experience that Kunou could have asked him about anything and received a meaningful answer. Art, philosophy, gardening, and every other art form she could imagine he was a master in. There was nothing but kindness in those eyes, he was looking at her as if she were the center of the universe and he its defender. He was her hero, her knight in armor that glowed golden like his eyes, he was the one that spoke and calmed her. Kunou lived a million lives and in all of them he was there. He had won her over and he had yet to speak physically. He would always come to save her. He could be anything she wanted him to be. The cool older brother, the dotting father, the most perfect of husbands. Kunou liked that last one a lot.
He unlocked her cage door with a single shot of red light. It fell to the floor with a clang of metal on concrete. The cage opened and her hero extended his hand to hers. His voice was more beautiful than any singer Kunou had ever heard or would ever hear.
"I said help was coming, my lady. I am here now, and I will get you back to your mother."
Her heart sang with those words and remembering the other words he had said. She knew no fear. She would never let fear back into her soul, just like her savior.
"Thank you."
His smile was bright and pure.
"With your permission my lady I would like to put you under a sleeping spell. I promise to take it off as soon as we leave the building."
She trusted him and could correctly guess that he was trying to preserve her innocence for just a bit longer.
"Alright. I do have a question for you my knight. What is your name?"
"Issei my lady. My name is Issei."
Kunou awoke to the sounds of the city, it was just like always noisy. She took comfort now in that noise, her cell had always been silent. Her savior was sitting next to her resting body. To her immense disappointment the helm was back over his head. He gentlemanly helped her up and so together they made their way out of the alley behind the building that had been her prison. As they walked amongst the evening crowds Kunou noticed her rescuer was not attracting the attention of the crowds despite the fact that he was still in his armor.
"I am making sure we are not seen. My lady, I do not know if there are unseen watchers of the abductors,looking for you that are in the crowds. Better safe than sorry."
Kunou nodded that made a lot of sense, but he had dodged the question. But the kitsune wanted to return home more than have it answered. They continued moving towards the wey portal that led to the Youkai half of Kyoto and with whatever power Issei had they were not bothered by anyone.
While walking Kunou asked her rescuer a couple more questions, mainly what kind of armor and weapons he was using. The human gave non-committal answers, and it was only when she had asked on a whim what his favorite type of books were that he finally gave a truly clear answer.
"I have always enjoyed science fiction novels, the worlds they build are much like the hidden world they are incredible and awe inspiring."
When they had gotten into the other half of Kyoto. Issei had actually gotten more on guard watching more intently for dangers that would threaten her. His strange ability seemed to hold up and he only dropped it when they were next door to Yasaka's palace. They had continued walking until they reached the front gate where guards had noticed them in ten seconds and upon seeing Kunou with a strange armored figure charged forward to 'rescue' the young woman. Issei had simply let them come and surround him before the captain on scene an elephant youkai could give the order to arrest this stranger. Kunou had stopped them declaring loudly that this man had saved her from her abductors. The captain looked to the kitsune and then to the stranger before nodding. Issei was put in the middle of an escort of five guards that kept him in a circle that would protect Yasaka and Kunou from any attack he might launch. When they reached the throne room of Yasaka's court twenty more guards were stationed and ready for a fight. Sitting on a wonderfully sculpted wood throne was the Nine tailed fox, mistress of the youkai of Japan.
Yasaka was a tall, beautiful woman with flowing blonde hair that reached to the middle of her back, out of which swayed nine fox tales. Her clothes were painstakingly woven in light gold and red colors that went well together, on her head was a simple crown with a rising sun motif set in the center of a small circle of rubies.
When the woman saw her daughter again for the first time in seven hours, she broke courtly decorum and ran to her daughter. Her tails bouncing with anticipation.
The nine tails hugged her daughter not letting her go, fearing that if she did Kunou would disappear. When the reunion was over twenty minutes later. Yasaka let go of her daughter and turned to her guards and the stranger. Making a very educative guess, Yasaka gestured to her guards to let her get a look at her daughter's rescuer. He was tall around six two, his face was protected by a helm with glowing green eyes with the rest of the armor looking like that of a bug's chitin. He carried a pistol of unknown make and model and a sword on his back that was very alien to look at. After finishing her glance Yasaka finally spoke.
"You have my deepest gratitude warrior for bringing my daughter back to me. If there is anyway for me to repay this debt you need only ask."
The man surprised all of those assembled when his voice filtered by a scrambler that would make it harder for one to properly identify him.
"I seek no boon Lady Yasaka, there is no debt between us. I found your daughter not for honor, glory, recognition, or reward. I did so to prevent grief for you both. Because I would be a lesser man if I had sat by and done nothing."
Yasaka and her retinue were in complete shock at the statement, everyone always wanted something. To think that this human wanted nothing from beings who were above him in the pecking order was unimaginable.
"Are you certain stranger? I am willing to grant almost anything you could ever desire. Information, money, a position at my court with some influence, perhaps something more personal?"
The man only shook his head.
"I acknowledge no debt between us my lady. But if you continue to insist to give reward for my deed. Then let that action be in oaths of friendship between us and no more."
That was what he wanted? Friendship not anything else? What sort of friendship was he asking for? Seeing her confusion at his words the stranger clarified.
"Oaths as you would give to a friend of the hearth, I ask for nothing more. I will however be open and honest and inform you here and now that if you see and hear cases of my appearance it means I am hunting the foes who hide in shadows those who prey on humanity and youkai alike even if they wear the same faces."
The guards bristled at the suggestion that their lady would ever do such an action as he was implying. Blades on their sides were gripped now more tightly. Kunou had wanted to say something anything to calm their anger. Yasaka, however, with her several centuries of life in politics could see the intentions of the stranger a bit more clearly. It seemed that the stranger had assumed the mantle of a protector, he acknowledged that her people were just that, people. Not humans whom he seemed to be extra protective of but people all the same. This could work.
"Very well stranger. I freely and knowingly of my own free will, swear to consider you a friend of my house and its members, to share my food and drink with you willingly, for I to consider your worries and troubles and for you to know that you can call me and mine your friend in times of need, so i swear upon the gods of japan."
The stranger nodded in acceptance at the oath before returning it with one of his own. Pulling from a pouch on his waistband several scrolls he then proceeded to hand them to Yasaka.
"Then in the interest of true friends my lady I give to you these. They were on several of the abductors, and I believe they should be of use to you."
Yasaka took the offering and gave all but one of the scrolls to her personal champion an Oni who, had been as still as a statue was standing to her right. The nine tailed fox then opened the scroll and began reading. Almost immediately the killing intent that was coming from the monarch made three of the weakest guards' faint as they could not take the pressure the intent was putting into the room. The other seventeen guards were sweating profusely.
Kunou was shaking having only felt this once before. The teenager looked at her knight again and saw no trembling. Know no fear. The word echoed again and thus Kunou straightened her back and once again knew no fear.
"This. This is outrageous and disgusting! Kombucha!"
"Yes, my queen?"
"You are to take the fifteen here, this scroll and gather more of our most trusted people and hunt for rats."
Yasaka threw a fire ball at two guards behind her in but a moment. The two tengus had been taken aback by the suddenness of the attack and were immolated. The rest of the guards looked terrified now by the violence before Yasaka's eyes met theirs.
"They were traitors to my house. Breaking the oaths, they had given to me. The rest of you are lucky that your names are not on this list written in the hand of my remarkably close and once trusted seneschal! You will help my champion find all these traitors and if I catch even a hint of treachery from any of you then you will be put to the sword. Am I clear? "
The guards nodded up and down quickly while still trembling.
"Good. now get to work."
The Fifteen guards moved with the champion, and they began the grim hunt that would start in the palace but soon extended to every single department and service with how far this rot had spread.
Yasaka looked at the stranger before bowing low to them.
"You must take oaths of loyalty seriously as you should stranger. I thank you for honoring your oath and for helping expose this conspiracy."
The stranger nodded once more before his voice said.
"I have known and have paid the price from those who break their oaths."
Yasaka looked at her new and unlikely ally critically and even though the armor he wore was alien in design she could see he was telling the truth.
"True friends should know the others name and face stranger. Remove your helm and speak your name."
And so, Issei did.
Issei had after the day of feathers as the kidnapping had become known by jumped onto the radar of the supernatural world. Work came frequently which led to increased combat refining his skills in war. Yasaka would often give him work. Going after Youkai who had broken her decrees. The fury he brought to each and every job always completing what was asked of him had deepened the relationship between the two to what had been sworn in her hall that day, true friends.
Job after job fight after fight and soon other factions began approaching the one that was becoming known as the Red Angel. The name was ironic in the extreme, but Issei had allowed it's use to give the forgotten son who had previously bore that epithet some recognition and redemption for instead of mindless genocide and slaughter the name was becoming something that was spoken in admiration and respect by those of light and a dread monstrosity of those in the dark.
Saving the young princess of the Youkai had been the primary objective of his first combat mission. The second had been for documents he had known were at the prison. The rebels had support from APA and several other groups. It had been with this information in hand that had led him to a possible location for Pantier.
The satyr was going to be visiting Kuoh sometime next year for an unknown reason that was probably not good. The scrolls had also pointed him in the direction of several possible associates of APA who had made rat holes for the group and Issei was determined to exterminate these strongholds in Japan. The first selected fortress was in a town almost an hour away from Kyoto and it would be there he would topple the dominos.
Town of Hagi Japan 2011 M 3
Night had fallen over the town of Hagi and its people were beginning to start the transition into sleep, it had been a regular day here nothing special had happened and most of the population would continue to want that state for most of their lives. Near the center of the town was an old, abandoned sanitarium from the early part of the last century and it was a stark contrast between how the people of the past had treated each other and how life had somewhat improved in the now. The town's population did not know, however, that the sanitarium held new monsters who wanted to send them all back to the Stone Age at best and at worse sought their total annihilation.
A small portal opened in an alley way near the decrepit structure and from it came a shadow in armor. The figure slowly made his way to the old building and observed the wards set up around it focusing on what would be to those trained in the art a small barely seen crack.
Issei put psychic pressure on this crack and broke open a small doorway into the grounds of the building. It was fate that had played into Issei's hands this time as fortunately for him one of the previous users of the boosted gear had been a very competent warder, not a master like Argus but one who had been skilled in the finding and breaking of wards. That echo of a man had thanks to Ddraig been able to share his knowledge and pass along his work.
Issei entered the sanitarium and began looking for blood.
At the entrance to the first holding cells were two figures both wearing skimpy clothes and both looking extremely bored. They died in half a minute. The first from a shot from a new weapon in the intruder's ever growing arsenal. The first fallen angel heard a crack and then a second later she exploded in a shower of gore and sinew. The second fallen had looked to her comrades death and before she could react a roar echoed through the hall and the last thing she would see would be wings of red and gold coming towards her at a speed that made terror the last emotion that she would ever feel, her eyes looking at her killer from the ground unblinking and white.
The door opened and several heads turned to see who entered, a noise dampening ward was on the outside of the walls of this block otherwise those heads would have been raised in alarm at the noises they would have heard.
Three of the seven beings in the room died in ten seconds, their bodily fluids and hints of bones flying outwards from where the bodies had been after a trio of bangs. The other four others immediately sprang from sitting or resting positions and attacked their comrade's killer. Another bang and a fourth joined the abyss as they closed in. The growl of the enemy's sword took another as the blade parried a light spear and then returned the strike sawing its way through the left side of body and that fallen fell apart. Another bang and the leg of the sixth was blown to pieces and sent the male fallen falling to the ground screaming. The seventh fallen tried to run but she was cooked alive by a blast of lightning that had come from the chainsword and her body crumpled to the ground.
The fallen without a leg was whimpering and having released his bowels in fear was now trying to crawl away from this red angel of death. The red angel touched his head and after a moment the skull popped. Issei would not remember their names even as he heard their last thoughts.
The death dealing continued unabated, block after block with bodies of fallen angels, renegade youkai, exiled exorcists, and magicians all being sent screaming into the warp. They all fell to the red angel. The forces inside the building began running from the single being who was carving his way through them like a hot knife through butter. Some began gathering in large numbers, hoping to use their comrades as shields against him. It did not save them. Others tried to activate portals and found that the attacker had while he was slaughtering them also changed the wards, preventing them from running. Those who had tried died too.
Inside the office that had been the wardens which was the control center for the operation. Three fallen angels and the remaining exorcists that were employed here had been barricading the door to try and keep their soon to be killer out.
Two of the fallen were four winged both male who were compared to many fallen angels actually were equipped with armor that had come with them when they fell. It was excellent quality armor, and both were silently sending prayers to God that it would be enough to at least give them a chance to find a way around the murder machine coming their way. The sole female among the fallen was a six winged magic type fighter, her arms were preparing a complex holy spell that she hoped would when the barricades failed them slam headfirst into the demon. The four exorcists were shaking and two were crying out open prayers to God to save them. One had broken down and was in the corner of the room in a fetal position trying to appear as no threatening as possible. The last was a white haired man with a blood thirsty grin of excitement spreading over his face that spoke of insanity.
The door and the desks that had been holding back the carnage were blown open in less than a second as a wave of energy swept into the room and had various effects on the occupants. One of the praying humans felt the energy and began vomiting up the contents of his stomach, the other praying exorcist was now screaming his prayers out as loud as his voice could to give himself courage. The blood thirsty one was panting loudly with excitement while the fallen were filled with a wave of disgust that was directed towards them.
The female fallen let loose her spell, the projectile hit the thing head on and threw the figure backwards and onto the ground with such force that the hint of hope the action brought to the remaining terrorists was the most sweetest thing they had each tasted in the long or normal lives, except for the white haired maniac who's eyes now held such great disappointment, his night had been ruined.
The shout of victory that the others had been about to release, died unceremoniously as the intruder got up from the floor and after dusting himself off, moved forward again. The scream his sword let out made the violent sick exorcist shit his pants in the renewed fear the figure surviving a spell that would have killed low high class beings, horrified the defenders, then the grim reaper attacked.
The crack that had begun to echo in the minds of the victims slammed into the courageous priest and his body disintegrated into a red mist. The fallen launched spells in retaliation each hitting the slowly advancing juggernaut. None scratched their foe, and he moved ever forward. Another crack and one of the male fallen joined the exorcist in death. The sound of a click told the remaining fallen and humans that there was no more ammo in that abomination of a gun. So, the giant closed the distance and slammed into the scared shitless priest.
The chainsword took both legs of that one and then his head rolled onto the floor. While the fallen were looking at the thing in ever growing horror the opposite was going through the mind of Freed Sellzen.
This was no human, or any regular creature born from simple stock. This was a god of war, a being who was bringing his art to the battlefield with strokes that were awe inspiring and praiseworthy. Oh, how he wished that he had met this one before his excommunication and before he had signed on with the pathetic fallen angels, because this god would have led him to heights of war that would please his black soul.
The sword came down again. This time on the fallen angel mage. Two sets of wings on her right side were cleaved off cleanly through feather and bone, the fallen let out a scream and threw more spells each landing despite the pain, the male fallen charged and forward slammed his light spear into the guts of the monster and was more horrified to see that it only left dents and did not pierce it. The fallen one lost his arms and then took a stab directly through the heart. His body crumpled to the floor. Freed finally made his move and brought his light sword into the god's body. The sword left only a scratch on the armor where the kidney that he had been aiming for was.
Freed lost the hand that held the sword but returned fired with his light bullet revolver enjoying the fight immensely despite losing his hand. The bullet ricocheted off the helm leaving only a small dent, before the gods glowing eyes fell on the young priest. A second passed before the giant slapped Freed sending him into the wall and then slowly fell to the floor either unconscious or dead the fallen did not know which.
She summoned all of her strength and made a light spear before reentering combat. The blows from both hit with such intensity and speed from both that a human would not be able to keep up with the exchange. The spear hit and stabbed into its opponent trying with the fury born from desperation, and the drive to live that all sentience beings have, it was never enough, her enemy's armor was too strong and too thick all she left on its surface were the slights of dents and a few holes that had almost made the beginning of progress that might of if she had more time and energy finally been able to kill this man. The fight ended abruptly when the sword parried her spear and then followed that opening up with another slice at her wings. Most of the pairs on her left fell to the ground and the pain overwhelmed her. She dropped to her knees and looking up into the eyes of her soon to be murderer, she saw the blade teeth covered in blood from earlier kills and her own come down.
Issei turned away from the angel and looked to the corner where the final exorcist was still in the corner hysterically crying curled up. He approached her and was about to end her sad existence when her thoughts hit him full force.
He saw a little girl looking up into the face of a nameless priest as he carried out unspeakable acts, he saw the young woman who had once dreamed of being a doctor who had wanted to make the world a truly better place for all people, look forward to each day as another personal life in hell forced into the service of a church that allowed wolves in sheep's clothing to abuse their flocks, he saw a woman that when enough had finally been enough had taken a stand against the establishment and was punished with more torture and suffering before being thrown out to the streets to die. He saw a wonderful nun whose heart was the purest thing he had ever seen in his lives find this broken husk of a human being and had without questioning what or who this was tried to put this exorcist back together.
She had successfully done about as much as she could physically, the scars on the mind, the nun however could not fix easily and or without significant effort, this nun who even Revelation would agree should be called a 'saint' whose faith was what faith should be, instead of the shit and evil that would too often take form. This saint had helped the woman and then helped her escape from that life forever.
But where could this newly freed woman go? She had no money or life experience other than mindless service did she, and it had been with terror inducing reluctance that she had entered this cadre of fallen angels service.
She had hated every single second of service especially when it became all too clear that this cadre served darkness and was hurting the people the woman had once defended. Her breakdown in the room had come from all this and his rampage.
Sympathy and regret filled Issei for this woman. The rest of the cadre had been pure evil and had needed to be destroyed for the betterment of all. This woman had embraced the fear in the end. He came to a decision.
"I shall know no fear. And you are worth remembering."
A portal opened and three individuals passed through it. And another dawn rose over the town of Hagi.
An. I hope that the fight scenes are getting better. I feel like the descriptions of battle not done on the macro scale is where I am the weakest at with writing.
To the reviewer who was disappointed in not seeing more about ddraig i hope this helps and the speculation that daliea is like a votan, you are very close.
To the other who made a very insightful guess of the galaxy. you are indeed mostly correct. The necrons did separate the warp and the material universe. the predators and chaos gorged themselves on each other to stay alive, the necrons did win the war and did destroy the old ones and their client races. the rebellion against the ctan did happen. but unlike 40k there was a very well hidden virus in the software and as they slept, the virus activated across the species and killed them all, a final fuck you too, from the ctan the tomb worlds are still out there. hidden but out there. the xenos of this universe are different, some are very familiar and from other sci fi. others are the weird and wacky like the rangdoon. they will not be seen here, that is for the next so many stories.
I can never say this enough to everybody. Thank you for taking time out of your day or night to read this work. i would like to believe that i am a better writer than i was a decade ago. the feedback is very heartening to see. i will be updating when i am two or three chapters ahead of the current chapter. Thank you all again.