The police cruiser crashed down onto the pavement, and Tina sprinted out, med-kit already in hand. She raced over to the black ops operative who was crying and whimpering as he bled out, both legs gone at the knee. She hastily slipped on a pair of gloves, kneeling beside the injured man. "Hold still, brother, it's alright."

"Corpsec? They sent fuckin' corpsec?" the man gasped, shuddering as blood continued to pump out of his legs. Tina hastily put on the coagulation spray and stuck him with an IV to try to keep him going.

"It will be alright. You will live," Darkness told him, looking up and around. There were plenty of other bodies, but none seemed to be moving. Claire was checking the others. At least three full squads. Completely destroyed. She checked her patient uniform, but the only ID was "Bandit." Typical black hats, no sense of honor. They didn't even tell their prey their names.

"You dumb bitch, you're going to be corpse sec if you don't run! There's three Demons," Bandit blubbered. "And joke's on you! I don't have the credits to pay you for this shit! I'm so damn in debt buying my gear, and now? Gone! It's all gone! I'm soylent!"

Tina shook her head. The man was going into shock. "Lay back. You have lost a great deal of blood. And there is no charge. What sort of law officer would I be, to let one of her fellows die in battle when I could save him?"

"Who the hell are you?" Bandit muttered, but Tina administered a shot of painkillers, and he passed out.

She sighed, removing her gloves and tossing them aside. "Any other survivors?"

"Not a one. They're Red Eyes alright," Claire said, coming back over, still scanning the surrounding buildings for signs of a threat.

"This one will make it, probably," Tina said, picking up her massive shield from where she'd dropped it in her sprint. "How are we for medical supplies? I had to use quite a bit on him."

"We'll manage," Claire said with a shrug. She stuck a toothpick in her mouth, moving around with her tongue for a moment. "So. This is all ShopWiz turf. We're off the res now. These guys were too."

"Are the people of Axel still in danger?" Darkness asked, striding forward, her eyes up and alert.

Claire fell in beside her, slowly shaking her head. "Probably. The smart ones will keep their heads down. But we could let ShopWiz handle it. Technically, that's what the Corporate Charter says we should do."

"I do not care what the charter says, and we both know ShopWiz security is a bad joke. Their gear is inferior to ours, their training subpar, and their hiring standards pathetic. They will be slaughtered fighting three Crimson Demons."

"Just making sure we understand the stakes," Claire chuckled, taking her SMG from its shoulder strap and carrying it at a low ready position. "We'll get roasted over a slow fire for this, and Swatti won't be able to cover for us."

"We could always turn back," Tina offered, a hint of amusement in her own voice. They walked past a burnt out van, the smell of rocket propellent still hanging in the air.

That got a bark of laughter from Claire. "You'd cry yourself to sleep for a month if we let innocents get hurt. And I suppose I'm an enabler, because I don't see any reason to stop you from getting our asses in a sling when upper management finds out."

Tina nodded, looking around the deserted streets. It was eerie, seeing the flickering neon signs, bits of trash and paper blowing in the wind, and carts and shops shuttered but still standing there, waiting for vendors. "How do we track them down?"

"Are you kidding? We follow the damage." Claire jerked her chin towards the still smoking craters, burning sections of buildings, and even a few corpses.

"Ah. Aren't Crimson Demons usually known for their subtlety?" Tina asked, frowning at the carnage.

"Apparently, these three have given up on that angle. At least it will make finding them easy," Claire said, and started jogging. Tina kept up with her easily, her mind grimly focused on the task at hand: They had to stop this rampage, by any means necessary.

"Have we lost them?" Aqua panted, slumping to the floor of the shuttered store. Megumin had used Gram to slice them a way inside of the abandoned building, where a few cracked and molded cans sat on dusty shelves, and the floors were stained by dark smears that Aqua hoped was mostly oil or water damage.

Yunyun came over and squatted by Aqua, frowning at her. "Who are y-you, outsider? Why are you w-with my sisters?"

"That's Aqua, she's a goddess," Megumin said, looking through the debris. "And if we did lose them, it won't be for long. Catch your breath, we have to keep moving. Komekko, can you send out Hoost?"

"Yeah, I got a new thingy!" Komekko said excitedly. Her familiar poofed into existence, looking slightly bedraggled after getting shot half a dozen times. "'Kay, Mr. Chicken! Use Ethereal Form!"

"Caw!" Hoost suddenly shifted, going translucent to Aqua and the Crimson Demon's eyes, his feathers gleaming slightly purple.

"Oh, nice, normal people won't be able to see him now," Aqua said with an approving nod.

"Yeah but it feels weird, like he's suckin' at me with a straw," Komekko said, holding her navel and grimacing.

"It's an active ability that drains your mana. Don't worry, as a Crimson Demon you have a huge mana pool, it will take over an hour for him to drain it from full. Though, um, you have had to resummon him a lot…" Aqua admitted.

"Send him out to keep a watch for us," Megumin ordered, and then went to sift through the trash. "Hmm, some of this stuff could be used for bombs…"

Sighing, Aqua tried to relax, but Yunyun's softly glowing eyes were peering at her intently. It was a bit creepy, so Aqua shifted uncomfortably. "Um, hi. Yunyun, right?"

"I don't t-trust outsiders," Yunyun said suspiciously, leaning back and frowning.

"That's OK, I was the goddess of the Crimson Demons! I helped make you!" Aqua said, smiling guilelessly. "You were some of my favorites! Your poses were always so cool, and you wrote the best poetry! Plus, you were amazing fighters, always on the front lines."

"Wait, you know about Crimson Demon history!?" Yunyun gasped. She scooted even closer to Aqua, her eyes now blazing, her face mere centimeters from Aqua's. "Can you tell me about our people!? From the before times!? Were we really warriors for justice!? Why do we have the weird barcodes on us!? And what about the legends, could we really do magic!? Megumin and Komekko seem to be doing magic and they said it was magic and I really want to do it can you teach me how!?"

Yunyun was panting by the end of her tirade, and both Megumin and Komekko were frowning over at her.

"You're still too loud," Komekko said, stomping one foot. "Stop it!"

"Seriously, haven't you learned? We're trying to hide. Do you want to get us killed too?" Megumin spat.

Yunyun immediately shrank into herself, hugging her knees to her chest as tears trickled down her face. "S-sorry."

"Hey, hey, it's OK," Aqua said, sliding over and hugging the crying girl. "And yeah, I can teach you magic. You could be a proper archwizard, like the Crimson Demons I used to know. Would you like that?"

Hiccuping, Yunyun jerked a nod.

"Ok. Grant Status!"

A glowing card appeared, floating down to rest in Yunyun's hands. She clutched it to her chest, shaking with sobs. "I-tt's real. It's r-real. I'm a-a real Crimson Demon. I did it, d-daddy. I did it."

Aqua nodded, peering at the card. "Hey, that's a unique skill! Chieftain! I've seen it before, it makes your spells even better. You must be the true heir of leadership of the Crimson Demon Clan."

'Um, yeah. M-my dad…m-my real dad…I-I was adopted by Yuiyui and Hoizabaro…m-my dad was Hiropon. L-Last Chief o-of the Crimson Demon Clan…I-I don't remember him, much. I-I always called Hoizabaro d-daddy…"

Looking guilty, Komekko came over and hugged Yunyun as well, though Megumin kept rooting around, her back turned to the others. "Um, it wasn't your fault. M-mommy said so."

"It w-was," Yunyun whispered. She clutched at the card like it was her only lifeline, her hand shaking. "I-I can save our people. W-we'll find the rest of the Crimson Demons, a-and restore the clan. T-they're out there somewhere, a-and we can-"

"They're all dead."

Everyone turned to Megumin, who was leaning on Gram, her shoulders trembling. "Mom, dad…they're dead. Don't you get it? We're the last ones. You remember the last time we tried to go to a Gathering? What we saw there?"

Komekko started crying, and Yunyun hugged her, looking horribly pained. "T-the others, they were just…just…"

"ARUE'S SKULL WAS MOUNTED THERE!" Megumin screamed, turning around, tears flooding down her face. "HER FAMILY WAS THE ONLY OTHERS WE'D EVER SEEN! THEY'VE KILLED US ALL! AND NOW?! NOW I'M GOING TO KILL THEM!"

"Megumin?" Aqua asked, feeling like a hand was squeezing her chest.

Megumin pointed to Aqua, her entire frail frame shaking with grief and rage. "You see her? She's our ticket. She's got power. She gives it away for free, like a crazy person, but with her? Oh, we can do more than just KILL the bastards who hunted us down. We can destroy this whole rotten world! Blow it up! Because who cares! We're the last ones, and there's no hope left!"

"NO!"

Megumin was knocked flat on her rear as a blast of blue light filled the small room. The walls were suddenly ripped away, and light, real light, not neon, not fluorescent, not even incandescent, but real sunlight flashed down from a hole in the smog above. Aqua rose up, her hair floating around her like holy raiment as her eyes flashed like the sea in storm.

"There IS hope! I AM hope! As long as you draw breath, there is STILL hope! We can heal this world! And death is NOT the answer."

Aqua hovered up in the air for a moment, until Megumin stood up and glared at her. "Could you turn that off!? You're lighting up a beacon for everyone to see us!"

"Let them see us!" Aqua said, feeling the power of the new prayers flood through her, all of the new followers that she had gained in the last few days. "I will be a beacon of hope! I am the goddess of-"

The far wall suddenly exploded as a massive figure clad head to foot in dark adamantois armor barreled through, swinging a fire axe in one hand and bearing a riot shield in the other.

"CORPORATE SECURITY, OFFICER TINA FORD! EVERYONE-"

"ZEPHYR STEP!" Megumin screamed, charging to meet the attacker. Gram rang off the riot shield, and Megumin tried to side step, even as Komekko drew her gun and started firing, her bullets pinging off the shield and armor of her foe.

To Aqua's shock, the attack lunged sideways, shoulder checking Megumin and sending her flying. Despite Megumin's recent levels, her use of wind magic to make herself lighter and faster also made her vulnerable to simple physics, and with all that metal on her Officer Ford had to weigh nearly 150 kilos in addition to being over two meters tall.

Yunyun wordlessly snarled and drew a gun, firing as well, though her bullets also pinged off the armor of her foe.

"No! Use your magic!" Aqua cried, grabbing Yunyun's arm. She took the Adventurer card, looking at it for a moment, then selecting Intermediate Magic. Normally a Crimson Demon would know Advanced Magic, but though Yunyun had a higher than normal amount of skill points thanks to her legacy skill, she would have to make do for now.

"POWER! SURGING!" Yunyun screamed, her eyes actually emitting beams of red light. "BEHOLD! I AM YUNYUN, FOREMOST CHIEFTAIN OF THE CRIMSON DEMON CLAN! FACE JUSTICE, SCUM! FIRE-"

A burst of gunfire sounded, and Yunyun's shoulder exploded, spinning her about as she hit the ground, a look of stunned surprise on her face. There was another combatant, this one in lighter armor, though she still had on a full helmet. She also had even more guns than the Crimson Demons, and was firing an SMG into the fray in support of her comrade.

"No-no-no-no!" Aqua gasped. She grabbed Yunyun's shoulder, forcing magic through into the wound, carefully and expertly knitting the bones and flesh back together. "Heal! Heal!"

"I…I'm fine?" Yunyun gasped wonderingly, touching the mended wound. She grimaced, then poked her head up, pointing with two fingers. "LIGHTING BOLT!"

"Oohhhhh~" the attacker gasped, shuddering with…well, that didn't look like pain, actually.

Megumin staggered to her feet, looking dazed, and swung Gram at the armored foe. This time, the blow was parried, and then the riot shield slammed into Megumin's face, breaking her nose and causing her to stagger back. Another hit from the axe disarmed her, sending Gram spinning away, and then the corpsec officer drove the butt of the axe into Megumin's chest. She vomited, gasped for air, and then fell over.

"NO! MEGUMIN!" Yunyun wailed, and leapt forward, slashing her hand down in an arc. "WIND BLADE!"

The riot shield cracked and crumpled, but stopped most of the energy. Obviously surprised, the corpsec officer staggered back, and Yunyun grinned, flames sprouting in her hands. Then a wire shot out, sticking into her neck. Electricity arched through her, and Yunyun screamed before dropping down, twitching and moaning.

Howling wordlessly, Komekko popped up, firing her gun wildly with one hand, gripping a knife in the other. Hoost flapped down, scratching and trying to peck at the eyes of the gunwoman, but her helmet caused the familiar's claws to scrabble uselessly against the visor.

Grunting, the armored corpsec officer tossed her shield at Komekko, then grappled with her. She took two stabs and a shot to the leg for her pains, but for all her skill, Komekko was a six year old little girl, and her foe a battle hardened veteran six times Komekko's mass. Soon, Komekko was pinned, gagged, and bound.

Crying, Aqua stood up, pointing her hands at the attackers. "CREATE WATER!"

A stream of pure water shot out, splashing over the battlefield and giving it a good cleaning. However, since Aqua's foes were neither demons nor undead, it mostly just cooled them off and made their socks wet.

"Oh for- look if you don't knock that off, I'll shoot you! Where is the water coming from anyway?" the gunwoman demanded. She stomped over and slapped Aqua, causing the goddess to stagger. "The hell is wrong with you? You must be the VIP target."

"Claire," the hulking armored figure said, coming to stand over the whimpering Yunyun. Her voice was surprisingly feminine, even as she stomped a boot down on Yunyun's back and cuffed her hand and foot. "They're just children."

"Children that nearly killed us, Tina" Claire responded, showing off where several bullets had hit her armor, and pointing to where her partner was still bleeding. Then Claire hesitated. "But, we did attack first…"

"You know Nickles and Farbough would have shot at red eyes first and asked questions later," Tina grunted. "Stop squirming, child. I do not wish to hurt you."

"Y-you damn outsiders! You killed my parents! T-twice!" Yunyun wailed. "I'll kill you! Just like those blackhats! I-I'll kill you all!"

"Stop!" Aqua begged. "Please, we just want to help! We were attacked by bad people, even if they were just regular mortals."

Their pleas were ignored, with Claire and Tina continuing their conversation. "If we turn them over to Corporate, you know what will happen," Claire pointed out.

"We…we could just pluck out their eyes. They would probably survive that," Tina pointed out.

"Maybe. What about blue hair? She's supposed to be a con artist. I don't see how she's so dangerous. Seriously, a water hose? That's basically useless."

"What!? Who's spreading those lies about the Axis Cult again!? My precious followers would-"

Claire's fist slammed into Aqua's chin, and she fell down, dazed and stunned, unable to think as her head rang.

Then she felt something. A chill. And the presence of death.

"No! No, you have to let me go!" Aqua wailed, sitting up. "It's her! She's coming!"

"Shut up or I really will shoot you and be done with it!" Claire snapped. "Tina, we can't just let them go. We're still in ShopWiz turf, and they have a trail of bodies. But I'm not willing to turn a couple of teens and a six year old over to get their eyes put out and be executed."

"Neither am I, but…those are our orders…and they are criminals. I hate to break the law but-"

"Then you should never have come here," a chill voice declared.

Screaming, Aqua broke the cuffs with a surge of energy, turning to find her most ancient foe standing at the threshold, flanked by dozens of guards in heavy armor, bearing those filthy guns.

"Oh fuck me," Claire groaned, taking half a step back. "Er, look, we're here on orders from Captain-"

"I do not care why you are in my territory," Wiz the Ice Witch, CEO of ShopWiz and General of the Devil King said, her tones frosty, rime forming on her purple robes. "You are trespassing. And you have what is rightfully mine."

"Run!" Aqua screamed at Tina and Claire. "Run! Take the girls and run!" tears blinded her as she ran forward, summoning what little power she had. "TASTE THE FURY OF A GODDESS SCORNED! GOD BLOW!"

"CRYSTAL ICE PRISON!"

Everything turned to ice and pain.