I woke up in a strange place. Someone had tucked me into a bed, although no one seemed to be around right now. I felt tired and groggy and my body hurt all over, as if I hadn't slept for days. After looking around the room my mind drifted to the vampire attack.

Everyone I knew is dead. I saw dozens dead at the vampire's hand, and I doubt they left anyone alive. But maybe some escaped. Hopefully my parents got away. But even if they did, would I every see them again? I had no clue where this place was, and I had never left the village before. I had no clue how to get there. I don't even know how I got here. Some type of teleportation? I would have to practice.

Slowly a plan came together. I had to find out where I was, and then find a way to get back home. Vampires couldn't travel in the sunlight, so if I got to the village during the day I would be fine.

I filtered aura throughout my body, my aches and pains immediately feeling better. I got up and stumbled out of the door and into the hallway. I walked around the building and eventually found a lady, a sister. So this place was related to the church. That made me feel a little better. She gasped when she saw me walking around, ran over to me and immediately started fussing. It reminded me of my mom whenever I-

I stopped that train of thought when I felt my chest tighten and I had to fight back tears. I answered her questions as best I could, and when I asked for food the sister took me to the kitchens. She grabbed me a slice of bread and a bowl of soup, telling me to stay here while she went to grab someone. Hopefully, whoever she went to grab could help me.

Once I finished my food I went back to the kitchens and asked for seconds, which the chef was all too happy to provide. On a normal day I almost ate as much as an adult. The only time I had ever been this hungry was the first day I discovered how to use my magic.

Eventually the sister came back with a stern looking woman in tow. She looked like a model, with bright blue eyes.

The woman introduced herself as Griselda Quarta, the head exorcist here. That drew my attention. Even I had heard stories of the exorcists, the elite warriors of the church. This lady could help me get back home.

She had me to follow where and we walked around. She asked me questions the whole time, such as who I was and what I was doing there. I answered her questions as best I could, leaving out what exactly has happened. I wasn't ready to talk about it, and Ms. Quarta seemed to pick up on that because she didn't pry. Then I asked some of my own. I found out that we were in Vatican City, and remembered the village priest once saying Vatican City was to the west of us. That knowledge helped, but its not as if I could start walking east until I found my village.

Once Ms. Quarta was satisfied with my answers we stopped, and she turned to me with her most serious face yet. We were in a large open area, and a few racks near us had an assortment of wooden weapons. Something told me we stopped here by design.

"I'm afraid I haven't been entirely truthful with you," she said. "A very… influential member of the church is who found you. We took you in upon her request, but she also gave us some interesting information. She said she felt a great deal of power with you. I would like to see this for myself."

"See it for yourself how?"

"A quick spar. We have some practice weapons here. I'd like to see what you can do."

"I'm sorry Ms. Quarta, but I've never held a weapon before."

"I expected as much. You're what, five years old?" I nodded. "I would be very surprised to see a five-year-old that's good with any weapon. No, we train children in a variety of things here. I would like to determine how skilled you are, a test if you will. If it turns out that you are skilled, then I would like to invite you to train here."

"I just want to get back home ma'am"

"I understand. But you said you don't know where home is, correct?" I nodded. "I can ask around, see if any of the surrounding cities have been attacked. But in the meantime you'll be staying with us. Wouldn't you like to learn to defend yourself?"

I thought about it. I hadn't told her that vampires had attacked, or that most of the village was likely dead. I have nowhere to go, do I? I have no money, no food, and nowhere to go. I doubt the adults here would also allow a five-year old to wander around by his lonesome. Staying here is probably my best choice. And learning how to defend myself is in my best interest. My village was attacked and I was helpless to do anything. I was lucky to even escape with my life. That had to change.

"Ok ma'am," I said. Her eye twitched. "If I spar with you, you'll teach me to fight?" She nodded, and we both picked up a weapon. I picked up a wooden sword and swung it a few times. It was heavy, but by using Aura I could swing it around like it weighed next to nothing. Ms. Quarta walked a few meters away and took up a stance, her sword pointed at me. I waited to see if she would attack, but she waited and just stared at me. I guess its up to me to start.

I channeled Aura into my legs and ran. Once I got near her I swung, but she blocked my attack with ease. I pulled back and attacked and swung from a different angle, but she blocked it with just as much ease. This back and forth continued for a few minutes, with me failing to strike her even once.

Then she moved faster than I could react and her palm struck me in the chest. It threw me back and I fell but got up immediately. This time she went on the offensive. Her blows came faster than I could see, but I managed to block most. A few attacks got past me, and I was rewarded with a rap on my arms, two on my legs and a glancing blow to my back. I knew I couldn't beat her, but the ease with which she handled me was discouraging. This was the difference between an exorcist, a warrior, and an untrained child.

We continued for a few more minutes, with Ms. Quarta switching between attack and defense at random times. Eventually I figured out that she didn't expect me to win. She said this was a test, so she wanted to see what I could do. Then I would give it my best. I swung the sword until my arms started to get heavy, even supporting myself with Aura. Eventually I saw an opening, a moment where I blocked her strike and she took a step backwards, her sword by her side, leaving her unguarded. I channeled the last bit of Aura I had into one blow, determined to hit her at least once.

Yet when my blow got near she sidestepped and my momentum carried me forward. As I was mid-swing she got behind me and her sword swung up to rest at my throat. I lost. It left a sour taste in my mouth; I couldn't hit her even once.

"That was very good," she said as she stepped away from me. "Your form is atrocious, you swing your weapon like it's a club, but I've worked with much worse. As promised, I will teach you If you want to learn."

I nodded, panting too hard to form words. I hadn't used any magic in our fight, but I got the feeling that it wouldn't have made much difference. I didn't really know how to use it to attack, and I was sure she would have defeated me just as easily if I had.

"Good. Rest for the remainder of the day, get some food, and familiarize yourself with the area. You'll be spending a while here while we look for your village, and it'll be good for you to meet the people here. Ill escort you back to Sister Sarah, the woman who helped you earlier, and she'll be your guide today. And don't call me ma'am again. I'm not that old yet. It's Ms. Quarta from now on, got it?" I nodded.

With that she led me back to the building I woke up in and took me back to Sister Sarah. After giving her instructions to escort me for the day and show me everything around she left without another word.

"Did she spar with you," Sister Sarah asked.

"She did. She's really good; she defeated me without a problem."

She laughed. "I'm not surprised. Griselda Quarta is one of the head exorcists here in Vatican City. She oversees all the training for this facility when she's not away on a mission. It wouldn't do good for her reputation if she couldn't beat a child."

After that she took me on a tour of the facility. She showed me where I would be sleeping from now on, a building they called the barracks where all the trainees stayed in until they became exorcists. She showed me the medical building, which is where I woke up in. Then she took me to the chow hall, the building I got food in earlier. There was a forest about a mile from our facility, where she said the older trainees were sometimes taught combat and tracking. The facility was only a portion of Vatican City she told me, there were other installations scattered across the city where other children were trained. They were divided to keep a certain number of trainees to exorcists, so no one had more trainees in charge of than they could handle.

After the tour she took me back to the barracks where she introduced me to the exorcist in charge, a Mr. Ian. He took over from there.

"Listen up trainee," he said. "I'm in charge of you now. Griselda told me you were injured, so you'll begin your training tomorrow. Take today to familiarize yourself with the facility and meet the other trainees. Training begins at first light. Your bunk is already assigned, and your uniforms have been laid out there. Be in uniform by first light tomorrow." I looked at him confused, and he seemed to know what I was thinking. 'You were measured while unconscious. You aren't the first child to reach us injured. Griselda was sure you would join us, so she took the liberty of preparing everything in advance. Now, get to the barracks and meet the other trainees." With that he walked off.

I looked at the building I would be staying in from now on. It was a plain building, long and single story. This would be home from now on. I steeled myself and opened the doors.

As Griselda left the newest trainee, she though back to their spar. While young Liam had no true skill in the sword, he displayed a speed and strength normally only found in children double his age. While he would struggle for the first few months while he trained, she was sure he would surpass most of the other trainees within the year. She understood why Archangel Gabriel was interested in the child. He would make a great addition to their ranks when he was older. She wondered when the Archangel would be by to check on the child. She was too kind not to after saving his life.

She had no clue what they would do about his village. His injuries were clearly from a vampire. Most likely they would be searching for a ruin. She would have to start asking around about any villages wiped out. No vampires would attack so near to Vatican Coty, so they would have to extend their search out. At least the kid knew he came from the ease. He didn't have any Asian features and said no one at the village did, so that limited the search a bit. They had operatives she could lean on. It might be a long shot, but the kid deserved closure if she could get it.

Few of them ever did.

The next year went by in a blink of an eye. I was kept busy every day. Upon waking up we would all gather and physically train. We were separated by age group, with the intensity scaling as the trainees got older. I was told it was to prevent injuries, as working out too much while your body was still growing could harm it. Most of the training consisted of push-ups, sit-ups and running, all meant to condition us. Once morning training was done we would be released to shower and eat until nine in the morning. Then we gathered again for classes, most of which were also separated by age.

We learned marksmanship since exorcists used guns with light bullets. We learned scriptures, as they could harm devils and the like. While pouring over the scripture books was far from fun, they insisted we learn it since it could mean the difference between life and death. I found memorizing more of the shorter scriptures quite easy, and I poured over the books when I found myself with nothing else to do. It kept me busy.

The barrack I lived in was quite simple. It was one large bay for twenty trainees. I was number eighteen, and no new trainees had shown up so I was still the new guy. The living arrangements were separated by age, to ensure we were always by our peers. The older trainees helped us out with our classes from time to time, but we were expected to figure things out among ourselves. This was supposed to foster a sense of teamwork.

Six of us were in the age range of five to eight, seven were eight to twelve, and the other five were thirteen and older. That last group were expected to become exorcists within a few years, so we were rarely with them. Out of the five in my age group, I was only close with two of them; a six-year-old named Annie, and a seven-year old named Fred. The other three didn't really like me, which probably had to do with my performance in classes. I was stronger and faster than they were, and I took to out classes easily. While neither of them were dumb, I simply learned faster than they did. Within six months I learned up to their level and passed them by after that. Fred and Annie liked me though, and the three of us usually worked together. The other three had never tried to sabotage me or steal my things, they usually just ignored us three unless we were on an assignment that required the six of us to work together.

A year passed and I still hadn't received news of my family. I doubted anyone, even my family, were still alive, but I at least wanted to see my village with my own eyes. I began to think I would have to find a way to teleport there, the same way I had arrived here.

But that brought with its own set of problems; magic was a heretical thing here. The Bible said 'thou shalt not suffer a witch,' so I hadn't brought up my powers to anyone here yet. They thought I was just a gifted six-year-old. With no other way to use magic I started to practice the same way I did in my clearing; I poured magic into the ground until I was out. My magic reserves weren't growing as quickly as my Aura was, which I figured had to do with how I was using it. It was like a muscle; I actively used aura every day, while I just poured out magic until it was empty. I figured I would have to find a way to actively use it to increase my reserves more.

A year passed and Mr. Ian and Ms. Quarta pulled me aside, saying the person who saved my life a year ago wanted to see me. She would meet me in the forest tonight. I would have to walk into the forest, and she would find me.

Eager to see my savior, I headed into the forest as soon as night fell.

As the gloom shone from above I walked aimlessly through the forest. I had already been walking for ten minutes without seeing a sign of anyone. I had tried walking in a straight line as much as possible, but I'm certain I was already lost. Just when I was starting to freak out a bright golden light came to life above the clouds, just like that day. It was so bright I had to close my eyes until the light dimmed. Once I opened them I saw the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

Bright, luscious golden locks flowing in the air like liquid gold. Her two eyes seemed to shine with the very light of the sun, yet they were filled with such warmth and kindness that filled me with safety, like she would allow nothing to harm me. Face that more beautiful than any I had ever seen, that looked like it had been sculpted by god himself. She wore a pristine white dress, and even as she walked towards me it picked up none of the dirt off the forest floor.

"Good evening," she said, and even her voice sounded like honey. "Do you remember me? I picked you up when you were injured a year ago."

"I remember a bright golden light," I responded. "I'm sorry, I don't remember much more of that night."

"No worries," she replied, grabbing my hand with a smile filled with so much kindness it hurt. "All that matters is that you're safe and sound. Come, sit," she said, and she sat down on the forest floor and patted the ground in front of her. The sight of her on the floor looked wrong; she looked so out of place on the floor. She deserved to sit on only the finest throne, no less would fit her. But I complied.

"How have you been? I'm sorry I couldn't visit you sooner. My duties in Heaven keep me busy."

"Heaven?"

"Yes, my name is Gabriel."

My jaw dropped as I suddenly knew who was sitting beside me; this is Archangel Gabriel, one of the firstborn of God himself. The most beautiful woman in Heaven. I had read stories about her, but none of them did her justice. I couldn't feel nervous in her presence, she seemed so kind and full of patience that I felt at ease around her.

"That's completely fine ma'am!" Her eye twitched also, and I immediately regretted calling her that. That was twice now, that calling someone ma'am seemed to annoy them. I should probably stop. "I'm just grateful that you saved me! I don't know if I would have survived if you hadn't been there."

"Oh, I very much doubt that. Even when I reached you your body was already healing itself. Even if I hadn't found you, I'm certain you would have survived. Touki is a rare and useful skill to have. Its healing abilities are almost outmatched."

"Touki?"

"Yes, although you may not know it by that name. It's a very rare ability, among humans at least. But with the amount of energy you had, even injured, I'm sure you had already been using it for years."

She must have been talking about my aura abilities. So touki is the name for it. I didn't think I was the only one capable of using it but having a name for one of my abilities is much better. Maybe I could find more information about it now.

I've actually been keeping that a secret," I told her. "No one else seemed able to use it not even Mr. Ian or Ms. Griselda. I wasn't sure if I would get into trouble for cheating by using my abilities for training."

"Oh, not at all," she replied. "Touki is the energy every living thing carries. Humans, animals and even trees carry it. Its just that few can use it. Normally only grueling training brings out that ability in people. I personally only know only one human in the Vatican who can use it. Vasco Strada."

"The Vasco Strada? The strongest human?"

She giggled. "The very same. I see he has a fan. Yes, Vasco Is the only other human among the exorcist ranks who can use Touki. With training I'm sure you can reach the same level of strength he has."

That brought a smile to my face. I had heard more than a few stories about Vasco Strada, my favorite of which is when he fought and defeated the Fallen Angel cadre Kokabiel in world war two. He's the best of the best, a true hero who protected humanity. Hearing I could reach the same level, even being sure it would take a ridiculous amount of hard work, was an inspiration. And hearing it from lady Gabriel herself was even better.

"If I may ask though," she said, "how exactly did you unlock Touki? It takes even Youkai years to use it. Its almost unheard of for a child with no training to use."

I hesitated to tell her; I unlocked it thanks to my magic. But magic is heretical; would she judge me for using it? But I couldn't lie to her.

"I unlocked thanks to my magic." Her expression didn't change, so I took a deep breath and continued. "I discovered my magic a few years ago. I began using it to strengthen myself, becoming stronger and faster. After a while I discovered my aura- my touki I mean- and began using that instead when I found out it strengthened me more than magic did."

"I see. That makes sense. I haven't known any other users who could use both touki and magic, but fascinating and wonderful things always seem to appear."

"Isn't it, isn't magic a bad thing? Everything I've read and heard about it calls it heretical and foul. I've hidden my abilities the entire time I've been here."

"Not at all. Magic in and of itself isn't a good or bad thing. It's a form of energy, much like touki. While touki is the energy of life, magic can be considered the energy of the soul. There's a small amount in all living things, but usually so miniscule most live and die without ever being aware of it. Whether it's used for good or bad all depends on the wielder. That you could use it while so young speaks a great deal about you. You are an extremely talented young man. You should embrace your gifts, not hide from them."'

"I'm so glad to hear that. I've been afraid to use my powers the whole time I've been here. But while I know how to use touki, I have no clue how to use my magic. It responds to what I want, but I don't actually know how to use if for combat, besides using it to push things away."

She looked sad for a moment, as if the idea of child soldiers saddened her. What else did she expect would happen when she brought me here though? Not that I'm ungrateful. Not that I was ungrateful. She saved my life and brought me to what became my new home. I was clothed and fed here, and I was being trained to fight so I could help others not go through what I did. This is my life now, and I accepted it a long time ago. Her sad look disappeared in a blink of an eye and she looked thoughtful.

"I have an idea," she said. "I have quite a few books in Heaven on both touki and magic that I no longer use. How about I bring them to you, and you can study them?"

"Are you sure? I would appreciate that so much lady Gabriel." That brought another smile to her face.

"Of course. I read those books many times over a long time ago. While I can't use touki myself, I'm very proficient in magic myself you know?" She struck a pose as she said that and looked so proud of it that I laughed. She looked like a little girl who just discovered that rainbows appeared each time it rained.

"And, what if I came down every once in a while to train you myself? I'm very good at magic and fighting myself. Some extra lessons."

I grinned and agreed to that. Anyone would be happy to be taught by lady Gabriel herself. We talked for about an hour after that, with her asking me questions about what I was being taught and how my time there had been. Eventually she escorted me back to the barracks and bade me goodbye, disappearing in another golden light, although one not as bright this time.

I had a warm feeling in my chest. Things seemed to be looking up for me.

As I went to sleep that night all I could think about is how lady Gabriel seemed lonely. It seemed like talking with me had been the highlight of her week. I drifted off to thoughts of protecting that innocent smile, no matter what.

AN

Liam will not be joining anyone's peerage. About a harem, I'm still undecided on who will be in it. I can't say Serafall is out because she is my favorite character in the series.

Also, this story will not always be centered in DxD. Liam will be dimension hopping, and I already know which dimension he will be going to next. Quite soon in fact, within a few chapters I expect. It's a perfect place for a teenager to learn magic.

His harem will probably also span a few dimensions, although brief relationships will be a thing. Not all relationships are lifelong, especially among immortals, and I'd like this story to have a more mature feel to it.

Please leave a review, it really inspires me, even if its just a few short words.