"Haaaah!"

A small explosion rocked the shoreline of the creek once more. Dust and smoke were kicked into the air as clumps of charred dirt rained down around her. When the dust cleared, the rock still stood there, staring at her mockingly. A shriek of anger escaped the 7-year old's lips as she stared at the rock with a mixture of anger and disbelief.

Lucia stamped her foot and puffed her cheeks. Her wings flapped in an annoyed manner as she pointed the rock.

"I hate you! Selda, why isn't it blown up yet!?" Lucia whined as she kept stomping her foot into the dirt.

Griselda looked up from her book, suppressing a chuckle as the rock remained unscathed despite Lucia's best efforts.

Lucia's cheeks puffed even more as she turned to glare at the rock. Her eyes glowed as she scanned the rock in front of her.

[Generating Object Data…]

[Rock]

[Composed of silicon, oxygen, potassium, carbon, and iron.]

[Special Trait: Low-Class Holy Barrier]

"Mama, I hate you!" Lucia stomped her foot on the ground again.

"I don't think Lady Uriel wanted to make it easy to break the rock in half, Luci," Griselda said as she walked over to her.

"Mmmm! But still! It's not fair! She put a shield on it," Lucia complained.

"That attack would have blown the rock to pieces. Maybe you just need to go at it a bit more," Griselda said.

"...want… ice cream…"

"What was that?" Griselda raised an eyebrow.

"I said I want ice cream!" Lucia said.

Griselda sighed and shook her head. "I got you ice cream yesterday. If you keep eating sweets, you'll get cavities. How about we get a different snack today like baby carrots?"

Lucia's face twisted in disgust. She gagged at the thought of having to eat those orange devils her mother and Griselda called "baby carrots".

Her grimacing face only served to amuse Griselda even more. "How about this? You eat one pack of baby carrots back at the Institute and I give you allowance money to go out and buy ice cream from the ice cream man later, deal?"

Lucia frowned. A condition to get ice cream? And all she had to do was eat one small pack of those orange devils? She furrowed her brow, weighing the options inside her mind as to which was the better option. After a few seconds, she nodded hesitantly as she looked at Griselda.

"Okay. I'll… I'll eat the baby carrots," Lucia said.

"Good girl. Who knows? Maybe the baby carrots will improve your holy powers so you can break the rock in half," Griselda said.

"I'm not a baby, Selda. I'm a big girl now. I don't even write to Santa anymore!" Lucia said proudly as she followed Griselda back to the Institute.

"Miss Lucia. Miss Lucia! Are you listening!?"

Lucia looked up from her notebook.

Father Ferdinand sighed as he tapped the chalkboard with his stick. There was a diagram of a pale man wearing Victorian Era European Clothing. He had pointed ears and looked like what someone would imagine when thinking of a…

"Vampires."

Lucia placed her pencil on her upper lip and balanced it.

"Miss Lucia, please pay attention. Remember what I told you about your Sacred Gear!" Ferdinand chastised.

The little girl sighed and leaned forward on her desk. "It only knows as much as I do. It only knows basic things like what water is made of because it's been put into it by Grandpa."

Father Ferdinand slapped his forehead. "Please do not refer to God as Grandpa while you're in the Institution."

Lucia groaned as she leaned back in her chair. She wanted to go outside and blast the rock again but Griselda wasn't here at the moment. Most of the adult Exorcists were sent out to patrol the area after recent reports of a sighting of something. Lucia didn't understand all the words the grown-ups were saying. She went back to scribbling in her notebook, her pencil gliding across the page as she made nonsensical scribbles that formed a shadow.

"Miss Lucia!"

"Y-Yes!"

Ferdinand tapped the board.

"Vampires! Pay attention."

She nodded and tried to keep her gaze fixed on the board.

"Now, Vampires are creatures of darkness that have resided since ancient times with the first vampires being called Progenitors. But that's not important. What is important is that vampires feed on humans by—"

"Drinking their blood." Lucia blew a strand of hair out of the way.

"Right. But there are ways to combat vampires. Now listen because you'll need this knowledge. Don't you want to become cool like Griselda or Lady Uriel?" Ferdinand asked.

Lucia sat up, ramrod straight as she focused her attention solely on Ferdinand.

"Vampires are weak toward the Sun and cannot cross open bodies of water. They are also incapable of entering buildings unless invited inside. Furthermore, a stake to the heart can also kill them. Since you are a Nephilim, you are naturally stronger against Vampires because of your Holy Power," Ferdinand said.

Lucia wrote the words down as best as she could.

"But you must be careful. Vampires have powers as well. They can control shadows and mist, as well as control rats and bats," he said.

"That rats part doesn't sound really cool," Lucia pointed out.

"Children these days. Anyway, when fighting a vampire, one must—"

Father Ferdinand was interrupted when the sound of the doors swinging open echoed through the entire building. Lucia's eyes lit up as she hopped out of her chair and ran out of the classroom.

"W-What? Miss Lucia! Ugh, that girl," Ferdinand pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed in frustration.

Lucia ran out of the classroom and toward the stairs to the first floor. When she was halfway down, she was greeted with the sight of her mother alongside an unfamiliar man. Now, as a child exposed to both her mother's hobbies and the reading tastes of her babysitter (guard), several things ran through her mind all at once.

But the most prominent one was that this person must be her mother's boyfriend. He looked old. He had a scruffy beard and auburn hair, with violet eyes and dressed in a gray trench coat with black priest vestments underneath. He spoke amicably to her mother.

"I am honored to be here, my Lady. Even if it is just for a temporary assignment, I am glad to assist in the training of your Exorcists however I can," the man said.

Uriel smiled as she patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry too much about it, Touji. Treat this place more as a place of rest rather than a military base. I promise you that this is not like the Sigurd Institution out in Northern Germany. Besides, as one of the top Exorcists in the Church, I trust that you can do your job properly."

Touji rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know what to say, Lady Uriel. You humble me. It would be an honor to work alongside you in training these Exorcists."

"Speaking of, you have a daughter as well. I hope she and my daughter can get along well," Uriel said, glancing at the child hiding behind Touji's leg.

Touji nodded. "Yes, Rika figured it'd be good for Irina to get out. She's been closed off since we moved in and has had trouble making friends. You know. Language barrier and stuff. The kids don't want to talk to her even though she tries her best to learn how to speak German."

"Dad…," the girl said, poking her head out. She bore a great resemblance to Touji, possessing chestnut brown hair and violet eyes. She looked up at Uriel with some level of awe in her eyes.

"Mama!"

Uriel looked up and saw a black blur fly into her. She took a slight step back, smiling as the ball of feathers that was her daughter hugged her tightly. "Luci, Griselda told me you were having lessons with Ferdinand today."

Lucia pulled her head away from the crook of her mother's neck and looked at her. "I was but I heard you coming in."

Uriel sighed and set her down. "Griselda told me that you unlocked a Sacred Gear."

Lucia nodded excitedly as her eyes changed color. She gauged her mother's statistics.

[Uriel]

[Estimating Combat Capabilities… Unable to generate combat data. Scanned target outside of user's combat capabilities.]

[Age: 500,000 years, Race: Angel, Gender: Female, Marital Status: Single]

[Special Trait: Great Seraph, Archangel]

[Current Equipment: Shuhadaku of Uriel]

Uriel raised an eyebrow. "Warning System. Interesting. Have you made any progress with that rock?"

Lucia's eyes widened before a childish glare fixed itself on her face. She ran over and kicked her mother in the shin, causing Uriel's eyes to go wide.

"Mama! I hate you! You put a shield around the rock!" Lucia whined as she puffed her cheeks. Her wings fluttered angrily behind her, making her look like an angry chick.

Uriel rubbed her shin and looked down at her daughter with a sly smile. "I never said I'd make it easy, did I?"

Lucia's cheeks puffed even more. "Mmmm! That's not fair!"

"Now, now. Calm down. We have guests," Uriel said, pulling her daughter into place. Lucia blinked and remembered that there were two newcomers. Her shimmering polychromatic eyes scanned the two people.

Her eyes flicked over to Touji.

[Touji Shidou]

[Estimating Combat Level… Unable to generate combat data. Target outside of user's level]

[Age: 37, Race: Human, Gender: Male, Marital Status: Married (Married to Rika Shidou)]

[Special Trait: Holy Sword Wielder (Natural)]

[Equipment: Ame-no-Habakiri]

"I can't read him either," Lucia frowned.

"Read?" Touji said.

Lucia ignored him and focused her eyes on the girl. Her eyes widened when she saw the girl's face. That girl. She looked just like the girl from her dreams. She eagerly scanned the girl, excited to know what the girl's abilities were.

[Irina Shidou]

[Estimating Combat Level… Strength: 20, Speed: 25, Durability: 17, Magic: 5, Skills: 20. Calculating average combat level. Combat Level - 87]

[Age: 7, Race: Human, Gender: Female, Marital Status: Unrequited]

[Special Trait: N/A]

[Equipment: N/A]

"Mama, what does unrequited mean for when people are married?" Lucia asked.

Touji and Uriel raised an eyebrow.

"Unrequited?" Uriel asked.

"Yeah, her marital status says unrequited," Lucia said.

Touji burst out laughing, much to Lucia's confusion. He clutched his sides as he almost doubled over in laughter at Lucia's question.

"What? Did I… say something weird?" Lucia asked, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

"Oh dear Lord in Heaven, does that mean that your Sacred Gear can see my daughter has a crush on her childhood frien—"

"DAD! STOP!" Irina said. Her face turned red as she hit her father in the leg with a hard punch.

"Ahahaha! Ow! Ow, ow ow! Okay, I'm sorry, dear!" Touji laughed as Irina beat his legs with her fists. Touji calmed himself and looked down at Lucia, who watched the whole interaction with some confusion in her eyes.

So this was what Griselda meant when she said Lucia didn't know how to interact with kids her age. That's understandable. The girl has been around adults most of her life. And Irina hasn't made many friends since we moved over here. It would be good for both of them.

"Miss Lucia. I apologize. I am Touji Shidou. I am an Exorcist from the United Church of Christ in Japan. My family and I recently moved here. This is my daughter, Irina," Touji said, giving Irina a gentle push forward.

Lucia tilted her head slightly as she looked at Irina. Her stats weren't what she expected. She expected an unreadable number like her mother or Selda.

"I hope you two can get along and become friends," Touji said.

Irina looked at Lucia nervously, who stood there with a phlegmatic disposition on her face. A stark difference from how she acted around Uriel.

Uriel gave her daughter a light pat on the back, startling Lucia into talking.

"Ah, yes. Um, I'm Lucia Reid. Nice to meet you," Lucia said.

Her greeting brought a small but shy smile to Irina's lips. "H-Hello, I'm Irina Shidou! N-Nice to meet you! I've never met an Angel before!"

"Lucia, why don't you take Irina and go to the park with her? You two can go buy ice cream and candy as well," Uriel said as she pulled some money from a storage circle.

Lucia's eyes lit up at the thought of sweets. However, as she was about to take the clump of euros from her mother's hands, Uriel pulled back. She had a stern look on her face that made both Lucia and Irina want to shrink back.

"Remember, Luci. You have to buy snacks for Irina too. Remember to share," Uriel said.

Lucia nodded. "I will, Mama." She held her hands out expectantly for the money.

Uriel sighed and placed the money in Lucia's hands. "Griselda will go with you as well. Don't wander off too far you two! And remember to be back before sunset!"

Lucia looked back at her mother. "Okay! We'll be back, Mama!" She grabbed Irina's hand, much to the girl's surprise, and pulled her out of the Institution.

Irina didn't know what to make of the girl named Lucia Reid. At first, Irina thought she would be like the angels she had read so much about in the Bible. Strong. Kind. Heroes of Justice. However, the image she was presented with when it came to Lucia was odd.

The girl was an oddity. She didn't make any effort to interact with the other children at the park, leaving Irina to awkwardly try and bridge the language barrier between herself and the other children. After several minutes of trying, Irina went back to sit next to Lucia, who stared intently at a line of ants marching on the edge of the pavement.

"M-Miss Lucia. Do you want to go play on the swings?" Irina asked.

Lucia looked up at her. "No."

"Oh."

Griselda walked up to the two and placed a hand on Irina's shoulder.

"Don't take it personally, Miss Shidou. Lucia is… not used to talking to kids her age. She's just very shy," Griselda said.

Lucia glanced over her shoulder, feeling an inkling of guilt creep into her when she saw Irina's downcast expression. She looked at the swings and then to Irina.

"Wanna go on the swings?" Lucia asked.

Irina perked up at the suggestion and nodded.

Griselda smiled softly as Lucia tried her hardest to socialize with Irina, pulling the girl over to the swings.

"Be careful, okay? And Miss Lucia! Don't swing so high that you'll jump off!" Griselda said.

"Okay!" Lucia said as she and Irina sat on the swings.

The two sat in awkward silence, swinging back and forth. Lucia didn't know what to say. She had never talked to someone her age, much less a girl. She was, for a lack of better words, homeschooled and such, did not go to a normal school like other children. The only person she talked to that was remotely close to her in age was Griselda but now, faced with an actual kid, she didn't know what to say.

"Do… Do you like magic?" Lucia said suddenly.

Irina looked up, a bit surprised. She didn't expect Lucia to start talking to her so suddenly. "Um, yes?"

"W- Wanna see something c-cool!?" Lucia's eyes were in swirls as she tried to maintain the conversation.

She clasped her hands together before pulling them apart. A small red and black orb of holy light hovered between her palms.

Irina's eyes widened. "Woah. Is that…?" Irina asked as the small ball of light dispersed into a shower of red sparkles.

"Yeah. Pretty cool, right? My Mama is teaching me how to use my holy powers," Lucia said, becoming a little more confident.

"That's so cool! You're like a superhero!" Irina said. "Can you do other things?"

Lucia smiled and nodded excitedly. Was this what it was like to have a friend? A warm feeling fluttered in her chest as she began showing Irina other things she could do with the ball of light.

In the distance, seated on a bench, Griselda smiled as the two girls began to open up to each other. While Lucia wasn't as expressive as she usually was during training, it was more than enough. Irina's animated responses drew emotions out of Lucia that Griselda seldom saw outside of training. The two girls giggled as they hopped off the swings and began running around the playground.

"I see."

Uriel placed her hand on her chin as she read the reports Touji had given her. She placed her hand on her forehead and sighed. One of the reasons she requested for Touji's presence was the incident in Ukraine seven years ago. After some searching through the registry, it was found that a priest named Noah Kamiyo was the one stationed at the town where the devastation happened. Unfortunately, there were few people in the Vatican that had an interaction with him as he had been reassigned from Japan to Italy and then to Ukraine.

"And these are all of Noah's files and records from the UCCJ?" Uriel asked as she leaned back in her chair.

"Yes. All of it from Noah's seminary days to his time as an Exorcist stationed at the Vatican," Touji said.

"We have his records from the Vatican but it seems like we have nothing from his time in Japan. It's times like this that I wish Gabriel didn't play around with humans. If we kept the religions streamlined to a single branch, I wouldn't have to deal with such an administrative mess," Uriel sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I wouldn't so much as blame it entirely on Lady Gabriel," Touji said with a wry smile on his face.

"Don't be deceived by my sister's serene face, Touji. That woman is a cunning snake," Uriel said as she opened Noah's file. "Did he dye his hair or something?" she asked, gazing at the man with blonde hair. The shape of his eyes and the shape of his face greatly resembled that of Lucia's. Had his hair still been black, she would have been sure that Lucia's resemblance to Noah would be a dead-set match.

"Ah, yes. It's a trend for children in Japan to dye their hair when rebelling against their parents," Touji said.

"I see."

"Miss Lucia looks like Noah," Touji commented.

"That's because Noah could possibly be Lucia's father," Uriel said as she flipped through the files.

"Huh?" Touji's eyes widened. "You had a child with a man?"

"No. What? No, I… raised her as my own. I found Luci in that destroyed town in Ukraine shortly after we received a distress signal. There was nothing left. Just a smoldering crater with Lucia encased inside a holy barrier. It seems that either Noah or the Angel he sired Lucia with made it," Uriel said as she flipped through his files. She glanced at a photo of her daughter on her desk.

"I see. I believe it was for the best that you took her in, Lady Uriel," he said, seeing the smile on Uriel's face.

"Why is that?" Uriel asked.

"Children tend to be a blessing to their parents," he replied. "I believe she will be good for you."

Uriel paused for a few seconds before nodding. "She's already good to me. Even if someone else gave birth to her, I raised her. She's just as much my daughter as she is theirs. These last seven years, I can't imagine what a life without her might be like."

"Does she know she's adopted?" Touji asked.

Uriel nodded. "She figured it out a while back but she doesn't know who her parents are. She's content though because to her, I'm the only mother she ever had."

"I see," Touji smiled. "By the way, Kamiyo-san has a younger sister in Japan. She's currently a first year at Ryoukou Academy in Kyoto. I heard that she's been looking into what happened to her brother ever since she lost contact. The Vatican has offered their condolences but she doesn't believe what happened and is investigating the matter. It will only be a matter of time before she stumbles onto something that'll put her in danger."

"Really? I guess it runs in the family. Luci is reckless like that as well sometimes. Hmm… Togame Kamiyo?" she flipped through the file until she saw a photo of her. She greatly resembled her daughter in terms of looks, down to the hair and eye color. However, Lucia's hair had a tinge of violet in it rather than being pitch black like Togame's. "So this is what Lucia might look like once she gets to high school, huh?"

"Um, Lady Uriel?" Touji said.

"Can you not see this, Touji? My daughter might grow up to be a world-class beauty," Uriel said.

"Um…" Touji was at a loss for words. He understood the concept of parents becoming idiots when it came to their kids but it was jarring to see it from an outside perspective. Was this how he looked to others whenever he praised Irina in front of his colleagues?

"Right, I need to get into contact with Noah's family and hopefully have Lucia meet her biological father's sister and grandparents," Uriel said as she closed the folder. "In the meantime, I'd appreciate it if you helped Griselda with the training here. For someone so young, she still has a lot to learn about training others and—"

"Lady Uriel! Lady Uriel! This is an emergency!"

A bespectacled priest burst through the doors of her, panting and out of breath. He had a few scratches on him and there was a faint bite mark on his neck but no signs of broken skin. He panted as he tried to articulate the news.

"Calm down and catch your breath. What's going on?" Uriel asked calmly as she raised her hand to stop him from speaking.

"V-Vampires…" He rasped.

"Vampires?" Touji said.

"S-Spill out from a local skirmish between the Carmilla and Tepes Factions. They all scattered and we've taken care of most of the stragglers. But there's a vampire still loose in the area. We've mobilized our Exorcists but they haven't found them," the priest panted.

Touji's eyes widened. "The kids. The kids are still in town."

Uriel's jaw tightened as she hastily got to her feet. She pressed a finger above her left ear, activating a small red cross contained within a circle.

"Griselda. Griselda, do you read me?"

"Huh? Oh, yes. What is it, Lady Uriel?" Griselda said.

"Bring Lucia and Irina back to the Institution," Uriel said as she walked toward the door.

"Eh? Lady Uriel, is everything okay?" Griselda asked.

"One of the Exorcists just came back and reported that a skirmish between the Tepes and Carmilla Factions are happening close to the territory. The vampires scattered and they managed to handle most of them but there's still one straggler," Uriel said.

"Understood, Lady Uriel. I'll bring them back as soon as possible— Huh?"

"Griselda? What? What's going on?" Uriel asked as she descended the stairs, followed by a worried Touji.

"The girls. The girls disappeared."

"Um, Lucia, are you sure we're supposed to go here?" Irina asked as she glanced at the trees. The two had snuck away from Griselda's watchful eye all because Lucia wanted to show her something.

However, Irina was excited to see it. Ever since Lucia had shown her some of her holy powers, Irina felt giddy at the thought of seeing more and possibly even learning how to use it. She knew her Dad could fight monsters and be a hero like her and Issei dreamed of was now within her grasp.

Lucia nodded. "Of course, I know the way to the creek. Trust me. It'll be worth it. I know a lot of cool things. I can even shoot holy power now," she said.

Irina smiled when she saw the fire in her newfound friend's eyes. She didn't expect Lucia to warm up to her so soon, especially since the girl seemed so closed off at first. However, it seemed the two found common ground in the sense that they both found the notion of having powers amazing.

She hummed as she followed Lucia, not at all paying attention to the growing shadows of the trees as the sun slowly began to lower itself into the horizon.

"Mama told me that if I can break the rock with Holy Power, she'll teach me how to do more things with my powers," Lucia said as she pushed past the bushes onto the shoreline.

"Really? You think I can learn how to use magic too?" Irina asked excitedly.

"Yeah! Your Dad is a priest, right? I think you can learn Holy Miracles while you're here. Then we can both go out and fight monsters like the Epilogue!" Lucia stood in front of Irina with a fired-up look on her face.

"Eh? The Epilogue?" Irina tilted her head.

"It's a giant shadow monster thing! I saw it in my dreams!" Lucia explained as she made an exaggerated gesture with her arms to indicate its size.

"Woahh," Irina said in amazement.

Lucia had a smug smile on her face, clearly enjoying this newfound friendship. "And whatever I see in my dreams comes true… most of the time."

"Really? What's going to happen to me in the future? Will I become a cool hero of justice?" Irina asked.

"Ummm…" Lucia furrowed her brow as she tried to recall her dreams. The most she could remember was what she had scribbled into her little notebook. "I dunno. I just saw a girl that looked like you."

"Like me? I think that could be me, right?" Irina offered when she saw the slight confusion on her friend's face.

"Maybe. But everyone I saw there was a grown-up. I'm not a grown-up yet so Mama won't let me fight monsters but when I become big, I'll be a strong Angel like Mama. And someday, I'll fight and defeat the Epilogue," Lucia said with fierce determination on her face. "That's why I want to break that rock."

"I see."

"And you can be my Apostle!" Lucia said.

"A…postle?" Irina tried to pronounce the word.

"It's an Exorcist that has an Angel partner!" Lucia said as she gathered holy power into her hands and took aim at the rock. "We can fight the Epilogue and the Shadows together!"

"Like superheroes!" Irina said.

"Yeah!" Lucia's eyes lit up with stars.

As the two girls plotted their futures out with childish glee, neither of them noticed a pair of red eyes observing them from the shadows. A deep hunger rested within them and the figure opened its mouth to lick its lips, revealing a row of razor-sharp teeth.

CourtMageMerlin: Thank you. I hope you continue reading. I do have things planned in the future for this.

That's housekeeping done.

Okay guys, this is the last chapter I have to post before I go do some things for work and school.

Anyway, if you're wondering what exactly the United Church of Christ in Japan is, it's the largest demonination of Christianity in Japan and a Protestant denomination. Irina and her father are Protestants so I figured this would be the branch they come from. Don't quote me on that. I literally googled what is the largest Christian denomination in Japan and this was the first result.

I'll explain more about the Apostle system later but just know for now, it will feed into the Brave Saints system that will appear in the future when we hit the time of canon. FOR NOW though, this will be the pre-existing system in place of it. I'll slowly add more people into her Apostles but primarily, Irina and Asia are set in stone. Note, this will not affect whether or not they end up with Issei or not but I figured a girl like her who can scan things can save Asia before Diodora sinks his claws into her and gets her excommunicated.

Anyway, that's all from me for now. Remember to drop that review. Red Sky resumes this week.